The Iranian police announced on Saturday that they had stepped up checks on the compulsory wearing of veils by women in the street, lamenting the fact that they are increasingly disregarded.
“The police in Tehran, as in other provinces, will intervene against individuals who promote (…) not wearing the veil,” warned the capital’s police chief, General Abasali Mohammadian, on television.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, women have been obliged to conceal their hair in public places.
But more and more women are appearing without veils, particularly since the protest movement sparked by the death in custody in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the country’s strict dress code.
Women “who have not heeded previous police warnings will be given special attention and prosecuted”, warned General Mohammadian.
This tougher stance comes just days after a speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, who reiterated that all women must respect the wearing of the veil, regardless of their beliefs.
“The hijab issue has now become a challenge imposed on our country; it’s a problem that didn’t exist before”, he lamented.
He blamed “the intervention of foreigners”, particularly Westerners, in supporting women who refuse to veil.
The morality police, behind Mahsa Amini’s arrest, had disappeared from the streets since the start of the September 2022 protests, but the unit has never been formally abolished by the authorities.
Local media have reported in recent months that police have seized vehicles carrying women without veils and punished their owners. The authorities have also closed down cafés and restaurants where the wearing of the hijab was not respected by employees or customers.
With AFP
