Typology of Mindset of Policymakers and Executives Regarding Dealing with Lack of Proper Observance of Hijab in Iran: A Study Based on Q Methodology

Hijab, as a social action, on the one hand, is under the influence of cultural, social political and economic structures and, on the other, it is affected by social actors. In the post-revolution years, due to domestic vulnerability and foreign threats, one of the important problems has been the gradual fading away of the culture of chastity and hijab. Every public problem has different causes. It seems that one of the important reasons for emergence, continuation and lack of settlement of a problem can be the policy and performance of the officials. Regarding lack of proper observance of hijab, besides other reasons, one may refer to the weaknesses among the policymakers and executives and the policies at the level of implementation. The findings of this research show that the main problem at this level is “differences of opinion among policymakers and executives in charge of management of lack of proper observance of hijab”. The main objective of this paper is to identify and classify the mindsets of the policymakers and executives in field of management of lack of proper observance of hijab in Iran. Q Methodology was employed to test the hypotheses. The statistical population consisted of policymakers and executives in field of managing lack of proper observance of hijab. 26 officials were contacted and through factor analysis five mindsets were found, i.e. executive-oriented, policy-oriented, approach-oriented, populists, and the bewildered.