Poll: Most Iranians want secular state and reject forced hijab

Posted: Wed, 23rd Nov 2022

Poll: Most Iranians want secular state and reject forced hijab

A majority of Iranians support a secular state and oppose mandatory hijab, polling has found.

Seventy-four per cent of women and 71% of men in Iran disagree with laws imposing hijab on women, the Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN) found.

Of those opposed to compulsory hijab, 84% want to live in a secular state.

The figures gathered over two years of polling were published yesterday in a report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which said opposition to compulsory hijab is "a symptom of the mass secularisation and liberalisation of Iranian society currently in evidence on Iran's streets in the form of nationwide uprisings".

Iran is officially a theocratic republic based on the enforcement and expansion of Islamic law. The report said: "The eradication of non-Islamic ideals – not least secularism and liberalism – is at the crux of this regimes existence and purpose".

The report was published in response to continuing nationwide protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was reportedly beaten to death in September by 'morality police' for 'improper' hijab. Anti-regime protests have been gaining momentum in Iran since 2017, led largely by women.

In addition to facing up to 15 years in prison and lashings and fines for showing their hair, women in Iran are banned from singing, dancing and attending football stadiums. Their testimony in court is worth half that of a man's and divorced women are forced to forfeit custody of their children. Women are not able to obtain a passport or travel abroad without written permission of a male guardian.

GAMAAN's polls found opposition to mandatory hijab prevails across all age ranges and different social strata in Iran, and is linked to declining religiosity.

The polls found the "overwhelming majority" of Iranians no longer pray five times a day or believe in wearing the hijab. This includes older Iranians: 59% of those aged over 50 do not observe prescribed prayers and 55% do not agree with wearing hijab. The polling also found secularisation increasing in rural as well as urban Iran.

The report said: "What has not been recognised is that the compulsory hijab is much more than a piece of cloth in the Islamic Republic; it represents a central pillar of the regime and is the most visible manifestation and symbol of the Islamist ideology – one that is central to its existence."

The report said the West has been "flooded with inaccurate representations" of protests in Iran, fuelled by unreliable polling data in which participants either provide untruthful answers or do not engage with conventional surveys because "any criticism of the regime risks severe punishment or imprisonment".

As a result, the demands of protestors including opposition to compulsory hijab have been dismissed as limited to "radical" demographics, and mainstream western media has consistently portrayed Iranian people as overwhelmingly conservative and religious.

In contrast, GAMAAN uses encrypted online surveys which allow Iranians to answer questions about sensitive subjects truthfully, "without fearing for their safety", and so capture the "real opinions" of Iranians.

The report said: "The declining importance of religion is extensive and evident across all segments of society.

"Yet Western policymakers and international media continue to view Iranian society through an Orientalist lens."

NSS: "Those living under theocracies understand the need for secularism better than most"

National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans said: "GAMAAN's data reveals common narratives portraying the Iranian people as predominantly ultra-conservative, ultra-religious and supportive of the Islamic Republic are outdated and inaccurate.

"In reality, when able to give their honest opinion, Iranians express a desire for a secular state free from sexist and draconian religious modesty codes.

"Those living under theocracies understand the need for secularism better than most. Iranian women and men are rising up to overthrow theirs. It's high time western democracies truly listened to them and supported their cause."

Image: From Protests and polling insights from the streets of Iran: how removal of the hijab became a symbol of regime change

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Tags: Women