Discursive Contestations Surrounding Hijab in the Second Pahlavi Era (1321–1355/1942–1976)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran

10.22059/ijsp.2025.397590.671321

Abstract

The issue of hijab and women’s dress in contemporary Iran, especially during the era of the Second Pahlavi, became one of the central axes of cultural and identity conflicts, setting the stage for developments that played a decisive role in the occurrence of the Islamic Revolution. This article, relying on the discourse analysis of Laclau and Mouffe and the study of historical sources, examines the trajectory of the discourse of hijab and anti-hijab during the Second Pahlavi period. contemporary periodicals, and official enactments. The findings indicate that the Second Pahlavi government, after consolidating its power and influenced by the international atmosphere , attempted to hegemonize the discourse of unveiling through instruments such as women’s associations and media, with the central nodal point of progress and civilization and floating signifiers of freedom, rationality, and social responsibility. Aesthetic value was also emphasized in this historical juncture. However, the discursive contradictions of anti-hijab advocates led to unveiling being linked within a chain of equivalence with nudity, promiscuity, and lack of chastity. On the other hand, the pro-hijab discourse, which was initially passive, after a discursive shift, was able to redefine the concept of hijab—emphasizing the nodal point of chastity along with the social presence of women—from a symbol of traditionalism to one of revolutionary and authentic identity. As a result, the conflict between these two discursive poles led to the hegemonization of the discourse of hijab over the public sphere on the eve of the Islamic Revolution

Keywords

Journal of Social Problems of Iran

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 05 November 2025

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