Tehran, 9 April 2023 (GNP): Authorities of Iran are deploying cameras in public spaces and roadways to identify and punish unveiled women, the police declared on Saturday, in an effort to tighten grip on the growing number of women who are violating the mandatory dress code.
The police said in a statement that “They will not tolerate any kind of individual or collective behavior and action in violation of the [hijab] law”.
Violators will get “warning text messages as to the consequences” when they have been identified, they added.
Police have also instructed business owners to “seriously monitor the observance of societal norms with their diligent inspections”.
State-aligned news agency reported that “In an innovative measure and in order to prevent tension and conflicts in implementing the hijab law, Iranian police will use smart cameras in public places to identify people who break the norms”.
“In the context of preserving values, protecting family privacy, and maintaining the mental health and peace of mind of the community, any kind of individual or collective behavior against the law, will not be tolerated”, it added.
In Iran, women who don’t cover their hair stand the possibility of being arrested. As part of the huge protests that followed the passing of a 22-year-old Kurdish lady, Mahsa Amini, while she was being held for allegedly breaking hijab laws, many have been disobeying the dress code.
Her death set up an influx of antigovernmental protests that swayed the nation for months. Police officers brutally suppressed the protests.
Also Read: US Urges Turkiye to stop trade with Russia
However, women are still regularly spotted without veils in malls, restaurants, stores, and on the streets around the nation, risking imprisonment for breaching the required dress code. Social media is awash with videos of unveiled women defying the morality police.
Women in Iran are required by legislation, put in place following the 1979 revolution, to cover their hair and wear long, baggy clothing to hide their figures. Offenders have been subject to public censure, penalties, or arrest.
There will be no compromising on the matter, according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior on 30 March, which called the veil “one of the civilizational foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic.”
The statement encouraged people to confront the unveiled and exposed women. Such instructions have given extremists the confidence to assault women in the past.
Earlier this month, a video went viral in which a guy threw yogurt at two ladies for not putting on their hijab.
Both were later detained for violating Iran’s dress code.
