Thank you for this important question.
I stole the words from Amnesty International, which said the Islamic Republic “is waging a war on women.”
It recently put out a report and documents that show that the security forces and the regime have used various oppressive, malign mechanisms not only to segregate and discriminate against women but also to repress women and persecute women. That includes sexual violence. That includes beatings and floggings. It includes heavy surveillance, to the degree that it's not only cameras but people spying on women who enter businesses, for example, without a hijab. A business is shut down if the business owner allows a woman to come in without a hijab, and the woman herself can have her bank account frozen, her car confiscated and her cell phone taken away or frozen.
It really affects every aspect of a woman's life and a girl's life. Girls have been gassed in school. The list goes on and on. They are using every oppressive, repressive tool they have to ensure that they control women, their choices and the freedom for them to choose what to wear.
The compulsory hijab is just an outward symbol of women's oppression in Iran, which has really existed for 45 years, yet women are still defiantly taking to the streets without the compulsory hijab. That says a lot about their courage.