A video from a 2024 wedding involving a senior Iranian official’s family has sparked controversy, highlighting alleged double standards in the Islamic Republic’s enforcement of mandatory hijab laws.
The footage shows Fatemeh Shamkhani, daughter of Ali Shamkhani—a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former National Security Council secretary—wearing a strapless wedding gown at Tehran’s luxury Espinas Palace Hotel. Her mother appears in a blue lace evening gown without a headscarf, with several other female attendees also not wearing hijabs.
Shamkhani held a senior position during Iran’s 2022 nationwide protests, when women publicly burned headscarves following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody. The official has advocated for strict Islamic dress codes and supported crackdowns on protesters.
Exiled Iranian activist Masih Alinejad criticized the apparent disparity on X: “The daughter of Ali Shamkhani, one of the Islamic Republic’s top enforcers, had a lavish wedding in a strapless dress. Meanwhile, women in Iran are beaten for showing their hair, and young people can’t afford to marry.”
The daughter of Ali Shamkhani one of the Islamic Republic’s top enforcers had a lavish wedding in a strapless dress. Meanwhile, women in Iran are beaten for showing their hair and young people can’t afford to marry. This video made millions of Iranian furious. Because they… https://t.co/MAb9hNgBnN pic.twitter.com/WoRgbpXQFA
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 19, 2025
She added: “The same regime that killed Mahsa Amini for showing a bit of her hair, jails women for singing, who hired 80,000 ‘morality police’ to drag girls into vans, throws itself a luxury party.”
Iranian journalist Amir Hossein Mosalla stated on social media that the video demonstrated “the regime officials themselves have no belief in their own laws that they support, they only want to make people’s lives miserable.”
Iran’s reformist newspaper Shargh ran a front-page photograph Monday with the headline “Buried Under Scandal.”
Women’s rights activist Ellie Omidvari referenced protest casualties: “Their bride is in a palace, our bride is buried under the ground.”
Even Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, acknowledged: “There is no doubt that the lifestyle of officials in the Islamic Republic must be defensible,” while criticizing publication of private footage.
Shamkhani has blamed Israel for leaking the April 2024 video, calling it hacking into privacy. Former Iranian minister Ezzatollah Zarghami defended Shamkhani, claiming the ceremony was female-only with some attendees veiled and others being close relatives.
