Members of a family sit together at a park in the north of Tehran on April 2, 2023 as Iranians picnic outdoors. AFP file photo
Members of a family sit together at a park in the north of Tehran on April 2, 2023 as Iranians picnic outdoors. AFP file photo
Tehran: Anti-hijab protests in Iran have only intensified almost a year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, but so have the regime’s crackdown on the unrest. In a bid to punish an increasing number of women defying the country’s mandatory hijab rules, authorities in Iran are now installing cameras to monitor unveiled women and subsequently penalise them.
The Iranian police force announced on Saturday that women identified without the hijab will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences.”
According to a statement released by the police, the monitoring system has been introduced to “prevent resistance against the hijab laws”. The statement added that any defiance of the country’s dress code “tarnishes Iran’s spiritual image and spreads insecurity.”
Iran has been rocked with anti-hijab protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was arrested by the morality police for not wearing the hijab in public. The unjust killing of Amini prompted unrest across the country, with men and women alike, coming forward to overthrow the existing regime and reject its laws.
Despite a harsh crackdown on such women, many are still seen defying the mandatory hijab rule. Videos of women getting harassed by pro-hijab advocates have flooded social media ever since the protests began last year.
Just a few days ago, a video of a man pouring yoghurt on two unveiled women went viral on Twitter.
Last week, Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology said that all universities and higher education centres that fall under its jurisdiction will expel female students who do not abide by the strict dress code.
The ministry said in a statement, “All universities and higher education institutions under the coverage of the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology will not be obliged to offer educational, welfare and other services to the few students who do not abide by the laws and regulations of the universities in this regard.”
The recent police statement called on businesses to seriously monitor the observance of societal norms with their diligent inspections”.
With inputs from agencies
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