Women in Iran increasingly deciding not to wear headscarves in public

23 April 2025, 16:49 | Updated: 23 April 2025, 20:53

Women in Iran are increasingly deciding not to wear the veil in public, a senior journalist who visited Tehran has said.

Speaking on Sky News podcast The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim, NBC News's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel said women's issues are "one of the most sensitive issues and one of the issues that's really at the cultural and political heart of the regime".

Women in Iran are required to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their hair in public under Iran's Sharia law.

Mr Engel said although there are signs in restaurants, cafes and hotels telling them they have to wear Islamic dress according to the law, women are "brazenly" not listening to them anymore.