The race, held on Friday, featured 2,000 women and 3,000 men running in separate events, with several female participants seen in red shirts and without any head covering.
The images drew starkly contrasting reactions. Supporters of reform celebrated them as another sign of Iranian women publicly challenging mandatory dress codes. Iranian authorities, however, responded with anger, calling the scenes an unacceptable breach of the rules governing public behaviour.
Judicial officials moved swiftly, accusing the organisers not only of allowing hijab violations but of holding the event in a way that contravened official expectations. The prosecutor in Kish said the manner in which the race was conducted amounted to a “violation of public decency”.
Only a few years ago, such a large gathering of women participating in a public sporting event — even if segregated from men — would have been considered a serious transgression by Iran’s conservative leadership.
The dispute comes at a time when the issue of the hijab remains central to Iran’s political and social tensions. Enforcement has fluctuated, with periods of relative leniency followed by strict crackdowns. The death of Mahsa Amini in custody three years ago, after being detained for allegedly violating dress rules, triggered months of nationwide protests and intensified the debate.
Although the protests were eventually suppressed, many women have continued to appear in public without head coverings. In response, authorities have recently intensified enforcement efforts. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has directed intelligence agencies to identify what he described as “organised trends promoting immorality and non-veiling”.
The widening divide between Iran’s leadership and a significant segment of its population — particularly younger Iranians — shows no sign of narrowing, as the struggle over women’s dress and personal freedoms continues.
