More and more women without veils, the morality police have returned to Iran

Another round begins between Iranian women and the theocratic regime to extract civil and individual rights. The Islamic Republic’s morality police are back on the streets, hunting down women and girls who do not respect Islamic dress codes that require them to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothing. “With the establishment of patrols, the police will deal with those who continue to wear unusual clothes, regardless of the consequences,” said Saeed Muntadhar al-Mahdi, a spokesman for the regime forces. Women will be warned to follow the rules of hijab. If they disobey, they will be reported to the justice system.”

10 months before the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing an indecent veil in police custody, sparked protests across the country. Women and girls cut their hair, burned headscarves and waved them in the air in protest during anti-regime demonstrations.

Many Iranians expressed their anger and protested against the morality police and the religious establishment. After a heavy crackdown in which more than 500 protesters were killed and more than 20,000 arrested, protests from earlier this year have largely subsided.

However, many women continued to flout the formal dress code and many stopped covering their hair in public altogether, particularly in the capital Tehran and other cities. Since the rebellions began in September 2022, the morality police have rarely been seen patrolling the streets, with some reports – since denied – even being disbanded.

Authorities have used other coercive measures, from intimidation via text messaging, to denial of civil rights, to installing surveillance cameras to identify those who don’t wear headscarves, to shutting down businesses that tolerate women who don’t wear headscarves. However, it was all met with derision on social media and open defiance on the streets.

Gatherings in defense of the Code Nothing came of Islamic clothing ordered by various religious organizations, hundreds of sermons in mosques, official events and television talk shows. Every day the number of uncovered women in public places increases unstoppably.

This upsets the conservatives, who have long pressed the government and parliament to address the situation more decisively. A proposal for a new law regulating women’s clothing in public places and penalties in case of infringement is currently before Parliament. In recent months, the proposal has been intensely debated outside the courtroom in a bitter tug-of-war between the various regime spirits. A light punishment would effectively lead to the abolition of the rule given the increasing number of offenders. On the other hand, the majority of the population does not seem to tolerate the arrest of non-veiled women or severe punishments any longer.

Waiting for the new law The proposed institutions of domination remained mostly static. Thus the number of women and girls who choose not to cover their heads in public has grown exponentially. President Raisi, in an extraordinary meeting, called on the various institutions, including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Guidance, the Judiciary and the Police, not to wait for the new law and to carry out their legal mission in combating this phenomenon.

Thus began the regime’s attack on the insurgents. Watch patrols have returned in many cities. The commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, announced the activation of 60,000 Islamic bases in residential neighborhoods. Salami stressed that “when Islam shows its values ​​in neighborhoods, veil and chastity will flourish, and our women, under the influence of the enemy’s propaganda, will open their eyes and repent.”

Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president, warned: “If these wrong measures continue, our tortured society will ignite more than before.”