(Today’s Prayer) Iran's streets are filled with women without hijabs... The paradox of a suffocating economic crisis, a breath of fresh air for women's rights.

Marjan (49), a woman living in Tehran, Iran, has recently been deliberately taking off her hijab whenever she encounters police on the street. Most officers simply pass by without saying a word. "When I ride the subway, I see many women without hijab, even when surveillance cameras are rolling," Marjan said.

Recently, a growing number of women have been walking the streets of Tehran without hijab and with their hair exposed, but it's rare to see police arrest them.

The Washington Post reported on the 27th (local time) that Iran, facing a national crisis following Israeli and US airstrikes in June and the reimposition of UN sanctions last month, eased the hijab crackdown to appease public sentiment and prevent large-scale protests. Paradoxically, women's rights are receiving a breath of fresh air amidst the economic hardship, rising prices, rising unemployment, and widening income inequality caused by strengthened Western sanctions that are squeezing the Iranian people.

Holly Dagris, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, “Iran is walking a precarious tightrope. They feel a sense of crisis about the surge in hijab violations, but they also worry that excessive repression could lead to renewed protests.” Iranians told the Washington Post that the relaxation of hijab restrictions is acting as a kind of safety valve, given the public’s unrest following recent Israeli and US airstrikes.

Earlier this month, the Iranian government announced that it would deploy an additional 80,000 moral police officers to strengthen enforcement of women's dress codes in public places, but it is unclear whether the plan will be implemented as no budget has been allocated.

The Iranian government violently suppressed large-scale protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a university student who was dragged to her death by moral police for not wearing a hijab properly in September 2022. More than 500 civilians were killed and over 22,000 were detained. Some believe that Iranian public discontent with economic hardship fueled the protests. In 2018, the Donald Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and strengthened sanctions against Iran.

Source: Nate News

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)

Three years ago, following the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini for improperly wearing her hijab, massive hijab protests erupted. Despite violently suppressing these demonstrations, the Iranian government has now reportedly eased its hijab crackdown to appease public sentiment amid a national crisis. This comes after economic hardship struck last June due to Israeli and American airstrikes, compounded by the UN's reinstatement of sanctions against Iran last month.

Lord, have mercy on the Iranian people, who face a national crisis including economic hardship and rising unemployment due to Israeli and American airstrikes and strengthened Western sanctions. Rule over Iran's finances and all factors pressuring Iran, guiding them so that budgets are used to support the lives of Iranian souls rather than deploying additional morality police to enforce dress codes on Iranian women.

Lord, in this moment when the hijab crackdown has temporarily eased, pour out Your Spirit upon the Iranian church so it may boldly arise and spread the Gospel throughout Iran. Thus, may blind faith in Islam diminish within Iran and the Gospel expand. May many souls throughout Iran hear the expanding gospel and receive the Lord, and may we witness the history of them being raised up as new leaders within the Iranian church.

Send out workers to serve Iran among the global church, especially women workers to serve Iranian women marginalized by Islamic law. May all who serve Iran experience the Father's love and power that overcomes every fear through these workers.

Thus, raise up a holy army of the Lord within Iran, serving Iran and the nations solely with the Lord's power and loving heart! May the Iranian people become a people who boldly and fearlessly carry out the ministry of Jesus!