Twelve female performers have been banned from the entertainment industry by Iranian authorities for violating the nation’s stringent dress code, which requires them to wear headscarves. According to Mohammed Mehdi Esmaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, anybody who violates the law would not be permitted to work. This action was taken in response to media claims that 12 actresses-among them well-known names like Taraneh Alidoosti, Katayoun Riahi, and Fatemeh Motamed-Aria-would not be allowed to participate in movie parts because of hijab infractions. Since 1983, there has been a rigorous dress code for women that mandates head coverings and modest attire. Iranian women have been disobeying the dress code more and more over the past year, which has led the authorities to impose harsher penalties on those who violate the hijab. The prospect of up to 10 years in prison for women who violate the dress code was included in the legislation passed by lawmakers in September. These latest measures are thought to be a part of a larger initiative to impose stringent Islamic behaviour and attire standards throughout the nation. Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, women have been required to cover their heads and necks according to dress code requirements. Breaking these guidelines is regarded as a crime and has led to both legal sanctions and arrests. In recent years, there has been increased resistance to these regulations as some women have chosen to remove their headscarves in public as a form of protest. The government’s stricter enforcement of the dress code comes amid wider social and political tensions in Iran with many citizens pushing for greater personal freedoms and changes in the country’s laws and policies.