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By Parastoo Maleki via Unsplash, 2021/April.
Iran is intensifying its use of technological devices such as drones, surveillance cameras, and facial recognition systems to enforce hijab laws in the country.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran has found evidence that Iran is intensifying its use of drones, digital technology, and surveillance cameras to enforce the strict use of hijab in the country, particularly against women who have defied this policy in the past.
Additionally, the investigators have called out practices of “state-sponsored vigilantism” (Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2025) by encouraging people to report women for alleged dress code violations in private vehicles such as taxis and ambulances, sharing a narrative of a “civic responsibility” (Foulkes & McArthur, 2025). Other actions were seen at Tehran’s Amirkabir University, where facial recognition software was installed at the entrances to trace women not wearing the hijab, or as surveillance cameras were seen on Iran’s main roads.
Sources and Further Readings:
Amidi, F. (2023, June 12). ‘Your car will be confiscated’: Iran women defy hijab law despite threats. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65842130
Foulkes, I., & McArthur, T. (2025, March 14). Iran using drones and phone apps to monitor strict dress code for women. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kg15jkpdeo
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran. (2025). Report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/HRC/58/63; p. 19). United Nations.
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