Iran’s notorious morality police are cracking down on headscarf violations, with women in cities nationwide.
On Thursday, some videos were shared on social media, which showed the morality police units checking on women in crowded squares in central Tehran.
Minibusses, in which women were transported away in case of violations were also seen.
Witnesses were able to confirm the tightened checks, which came as tensions soared in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza and after Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel earlier on April 13.
“It’s the start of the new plan that has caused worry and hatred,’’ a 27-year-old Tehran woman said. She also said that she thought the checks were mostly symbolic to stir up fear.
A 22-year-old said that women might now wear their headscarves in front of the morality watchdogs, but “it will make people hate the hijab and the system.’’
A religious woman also thought the new police action was wrong, saying, the plan would only cause tension and conflict.
“No one has become Muslim through coercion, duress, and threats, nor by wearing the headscarf.’’
The morality police had loosened on their checks at a time, this was partly due to heightened resistance, after mass protests led by women in the autumn of 2022 following the death of a woman in custody.
Authorities also increasingly tracked down offenses found online, prosecuting women seen without headscarves in photos posted on Instagram.
They were also telling shops and restaurants whose customers were caught disregarding the dress code to close.
Iranian women were forced to wear headscarves to conceal their hair and wear loose-fitting trousers under coats when they were out in public.
But fewer and fewer Iranian women have been adhering to the strict dress code in protest since 2022, a tendency religious hardliners are trying to reverse.
A new law provides for severe penalties though it has not yet been enforced, despite having been passed by parliament.
A revised version was due to be resubmitted to the Guardian Council, an extremely conservative supervisory body.
The death of the young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the moral guardians for a headscarf violation triggered the 2022 protests
An UN-commissioned expert commission concluded that her death was caused by violence after her arrest.
