A video is going viral on social media (here, here, and here) showing women dancing around a bonfire and burning their scarves as the crowd applauds. The post is being shared with claims that Iran has lifted the legal obligation to wear the hijab, making it a matter of personal choice. It is further alleged that people across the country are taking to the streets and collectively burning hijabs to celebrate this change. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows people in Iran celebrating the end of the legal obligation to wear the hijab by collectively burning hijabs on the streets.
Fact: The video dates back to September 2022 and does not show Iranians celebrating the end of mandatory hijab laws. It was filmed in Sari, Iran, during nationwide protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country’s dress code. Women burned hijabs in public as a form of defiance. As of October 2025, there is no credible evidence or official announcement that Iran has lifted the legal obligation to wear the hijab. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A reverse image search of key frames from the viral video led us to a news report uploaded on the YouTube channel of Voice of America on 22 September 2022, featuring the same visuals. According to the report, the clip is from Sari, Iran, during protests that erupted following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing “unsuitable attire”. The demonstrations soon escalated, with reports of police stations and vehicles being torched. In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards urged the judiciary to act against those spreading “false news and rumours” on social media, stating that such activity could threaten the psychological security of society.
We found multiple other media reports (here, here, here, and here) from 2022 covering the unrest, which quickly spread across several Iranian cities. Women were seen publicly removing and burning hijabs in defiance of the mandatory dress code, while demonstrators chanted slogans against state authorities. The protests soon evolved into a wider movement challenging government policies, prompting a large-scale security crackdown. International organisations and rights groups later accused Iranian forces of using excessive force against protesters.
Further, we did not find any credible reports or official information indicating that, as of October 2025, Iran has lifted the legal obligation to wear the hijab or made it a matter of personal choice. AFP reported that Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the Center for Human Rights in Iran, confirmed the Iranian Penal Code still requires women to observe the hijab. “The mandatory hijab requirement has not been legally abolished. It remains the law of the land. It is only the level of enforcement that has changed, but even this is inconsistent and varies depending on the city and province in Iran,” she told AFP in an email dated 11 October 2025.
According to reports from May 2025, some women in Iran have been appearing in public without the hijab, although crackdowns could still resume. Other reports noted that authorities are increasingly relying on surveillance, fines, and the closure of businesses that serve unveiled women, rather than engaging in confrontations on the streets.
The rumour appears to have stemmed from an October 2025 report quoting Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, an advisory body to Iran’s leader that also resolves legislative disputes, stating that “currently, there is no mandatory law regarding hijab.” However, he later retracted the remark in an interview, clarifying that wearing the hijab must still be complied with.
To sum up, a September 2022 protest video is shared with false claims of Iranians celebrating the end of the legal obligation to wear the hijab.
