On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah issued a decree, Kashf-e hijab, banning all veils. The official declaration of unveiling were made on 8 January 1936, and the queen and her daughters were given an important role in this event. That day, Reza Shah attended the graduation ceremony of the Capital Teacher’s College with the queen and their two daughters unveiled and dressed in modern clothes. The queen handed out diplomas while the shah spoke about how in the past half of Homeland’s population had been disregarded, and told the women graduates that the future was now in their hands.
This was the first time an Persian queen had shown herself in public. Afterwards, the Shah published pictures of his unveiled wife and daughters, and the unveiling was enforced throughout Homeland. To enforce this decree, the police were ordered to physically remove the veil from any women who wore it publicly. As a result, many pious traditionalist women chose not leave their houses to avoid confrontations, and a few conservative women even committed suicide to avoid removing their hijabs due to the decree.
