1. Introduction
With the proliferation of laws and the decline in legislative quality, states have increasingly come to view legislation not merely as a tool for regulating society, but also as a matter requiring careful consideration and caution. This shift in perspective has contributed to the emergence of the concept of good legislation. The legal mandate requiring Islamic hijab has been part of state policy since the early years of the Islamic Revolution and has subsequently been formalized through parliamentary legislation. Nevertheless, hijab remains a subject of ongoing debate, as it constitutes a contested norm shaped by the long-standing tension between tradition and modernity. This research aimed to examine the relationship between the principles of good legislation and the legal mandate of Islamic hijab. The study sought to answer the following research questions: Which principles of good legislation are relevant to the legal mandate of Islamic hijab? And how is the quality of legislation concerning the legal mandate of Islamic hijab?
2. Literature Review
There is extensive literature on topics of good legislation and the principles and techniques of legislation. In this respect, a significant contribution is the Persian-language report titled Good Legislation: Foundations, Indicators, and Dimensions (Vakilian, 2023). Other relevant works include Principles and Techniques of Legislation (Ansari, 2020) and a book with the same title by Eslami (2022). In addition, Theoretical Foundations of Reforming the Legislative System (Rasekh, 2005) is another contribution concerning the different aspects of legislation. There is also significant research literature on hijab and its legal mandate. However, most existing studies have approached hijab primarily from a jurisprudential perspective, and no study has examined hijab through the lens of good legislation.
3. Materials and Methods
The present study employed a descriptive–analytical methodology coupled with conceptual analysis. It also drew on library research and online sources for data collection.
4. Results and Discussion
The legal mandate of Islamic hijab disregards the normative conflicts within society, thereby undermining the very foundation of law, which is rooted in managing societal contradictions and regulating conflicting ideals. There is significant doubt regarding the effectiveness of these laws, as their presence in the legal system imposes substantial bureaucratic, institutional, and executive costs. At the same time, they risk becoming either incomplete or abandoned. The relevant bill (known as Hijab and Chastity Bill)—which was intended to serve as a future legislative framework—was rejected by the Guardian Council five times and was subsequently suspended by the Supreme National Security Council. Such instances further highlight the poor quality of the bill and its numerous shortcomings from both religious and legal perspectives.
Although hijab, in its customary sense, has traditionally been regarded as a social value in Iran, its perception as such has diminished under the influence of globalization. Observance of Islamic hijab has declined steadily in recent years, to the extent that an estimated 60 to 70 percent of Iranian society does not fully adhere to it. This is despite the fact that, since the Islamic Revolution, numerous resolutions have been adopted concerning the legal mandate of Islamic hijab, and multiple institutions have been involved in its enforcement. In light of this evidence, there are strong grounds for questioning the effectiveness of these laws. Nevertheless, the legislature continues to pursue the same approach, advancing the Hijab and Chastity Bill and allocating public funds to a legislative initiative whose effectiveness remains highly questionable.
The language used in the legal mandate of hijab, particularly in the Hijab and Chastity Bill, is also subject to criticism on the grounds of ambiguity. Such vague language undermines the bill’s legal certainty and compromises citizens’ legal security, both of which are fundamental principles of good legislation. From the perspective of legality and adherence to the rule of law, the actions of relevant institutions are likewise open to scrutiny. The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution has acted in a legislative capacity—in direct contradiction to Article 58 of the Constitution—while executive bodies such as the police have, at times, taken measures that violate the law. Furthermore, judicial authorities have issued rulings based on arbitrary interpretations.
Statistics indicate that a significant part of society does not fully observe the Islamic hijab. Under such circumstances, continued legislation on this matter is likely to result in widespread non-compliance with the law, effectively criminalizing a substantial segment of the population. By adopting an authoritarian approach to the balance between freedom and power, the state has exceeded the proper limits of its authority while disregarding fundamental freedoms. A more appropriate approach would be to adopt a neutral stance toward hijab. Removing the legal mandate requiring Islamic hijab does not, in itself, conflict with the Islamic character of the state.
5. Conclusion
The analysis focused on the extent to which the legal mandate of Islamic hijab conforms to the principles of good legislation, evaluating the quality of the relevant legislation. A thorough understanding and application of the principles of good legislation are essential for legislators to avoid enacting laws that fail to account for the prudential nature of legislation. This, in turn, can help prevent the adoption of unenforceable statutes and the resulting waste of public resources.
In the context of legislation mandating the Islamic hijab, the concept of good legislation—in addition to principles such as legality, certainty, and effectiveness—requires deeper reflection on the inherent nature of law, which often emerges from the management of social conflicts arising from divergent norms and ideals. Accordingly, the current inquiry sought to introduce a novel analytical framework for understanding hijab as a contested norm deeply embedded in the historical fabric of Iranian society.
Previous scholarly works have not specifically examined the legal mandate of Islamic hijab from the perspective of good legislation. Moreover, the conceptualization of hijab as a contested norm remains unexplored in the relevant academic literature. The novel contribution of this research lies in the wide range of philosophical and historical concepts it engages with. This study is therefore the culmination of the sustained intellectual engagement with such intricate issues. These continuing intellectual concerns are primarily prompted by the relatively recent emergence of legisprudence as a distinct field of inquiry and the broad range of concepts associated with it.