Iran deploys ‘morality police’ to quell hijab rebellion

All-women units to crack down on growing numbers who deliberately flout strict veiling laws

IRAN has deployed 2,000 new morality police units in reaction to what officials call an “increasing defiance” of the compulsory wearing of hijabs.

The units – called “resistance groups for verbal and practical response to bad-hijabi women” – were launched recently in the northern province of Gilan as part of a pilot scheme. They each have six women with the power to arrest and detain those deemed to be flouting strict veiling laws.

The move comes amid a growing backlash by women in the Islamic Republic, hundreds of whom have been arrested for taking off their head coverings in public in protest at the law.

A campaign called “White Wednesday” that encouraged women to wear white and discard their hijabs has also gained support, much to the consternation of conservative clerics.

While Iran has had various forms of “morality police” since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the decision to increase numbers as well as introduce all-female brigades, is a sign that authorities are adopting a tougher approach.

Mohammad Abdulahpour, the commander of Gilan province’s Revolutionary Guards unit, has said that the survival of the Islamic revolution depends on the full implementation of Islamic traditions and that “the issue of hijab is not a simple matter, but rather a serious political and security issue for our country”.

“The enemy is heavily investing in changing our nation’s culture to adopt a Western lifestyle,” Mr Abdulahpour told the local Tasnim news agency.

Cleric Rasoul Falahati, a provincial representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, condemned women who defied the hijab. “We do not wish to show a violent image of our religion, but models and promoters of vile fashions not only defy the hijab,” he said, “but are nowadays appearing almost naked on our streets.”

Police have also installed cameras on the Iran’s highways to photograph female drivers who remove their hijabs once they leave the town centres.

Women’s rights defenders across the country have joined an unprecedented protest movement against veiling laws.

They began taking to the streets last year, silently waving their headscarves on the ends of sticks. In response, they suffered a backlash from the authorities, facing violent assault, arrest and torture, with some jailed after what human rights groups called unfair trials.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer, was sentenced in May last year to seven years in prison after defending the protesters.

Both Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, and Ayatollah Khamenei support a softer attitude toward women who do not properly follow the dress code, although hardliners opposed to any such easing still dominate Iran’s security forces and the judiciary.