Iranian officials announced on Sunday their decision to reinstate patrols by the morality police, aimed at enforcing the hijab rule, due to a reported increase in women not wearing their headscarves in public. The announcement comes less than a year after the death of Mahsa Amini, which had led to widespread protests throughout the country.
Saeid Montazeralmahdi, the spokesperson for Iranian law enforcement, stated that police patrols, both on foot and in vehicles, would resume their activities of notifying and detaining women who do not comply with the hijab requirement. Montazeralmahdi mentioned that the morality police would issue warnings and refer individuals who persistently violate the norm to the judicial system, emphasizing the consequences of not adhering to the prescribed dress code.
According to Al Jazeera, officers have been instructed to warn both women and men and crack down on individuals whose attire is not considered appropriate under the Islamic Republic’s standards. Following the nationwide protests, the presence of the morality police had significantly diminished in Iranian streets. However, this did not halt the Iranian officials’ efforts to enforce the dress code established after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Over time, Tehran implemented other measures such as the closure of non-compliant businesses and the installation of surveillance cameras in public places to identify offenders.
In a return to traditional methods, marked vans with men and women from the morality police were seen patrolling the streets, as reported by the Associated Press. In recent events, a young actor named Mohammed Sadeghi was arrested after posting a video response to another online video that showed a woman being detained by the morality police. Sadeghi’s response included a statement expressing extreme frustration, which attracted attention and led to his arrest.
Violating the dress code in the Islamic Republic can result in fines or prison terms of up to two months. Shargh, an Iranian reformist newspaper, reported that four women faced additional punishments, including attending psychological classes and being banned from driving.
The decision to reinstate the morality police comes exactly ten months after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who allegedly died while in custody for violating the dress code. Amini’s death sparked widespread protests against the hijab law and the morality police, resulting in significant casualties and arrests. The Iranian government has characterized the protests as foreign-instigated “riots” and has since employed a heavy crackdown to suppress dissent.
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