Reports say the government has decided to disband Iran’s morality police. Protests have been going on in the country for more than two months following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for violating the country’s dress code. The ISNA news agency quoted Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montesseri as saying that the morality police had nothing to do with the judiciary and had withdrawn.
Mahsa Amini was arrested by the country’s religious affairs police in Tehran. This 22-year-old woman of Kurdish origin died in police custody on September 16 this year. Following this, widespread protests led by women are taking place across Iran. The authorities describe these protests as ‘riots’.
Who is Iran’s Morality Police? How are their activities?
Iran’s religious affairs police, or morality police, known as the Gasht-e Ershad or Guidance Patrol, was established when the conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was president. Iran implemented this system with the aim of inculcating the culture of modesty and wearing a headscarf among the people. Since 2006, morality police units have started patrolling Iran.
“If the clothes are too tight, revealing, short sleeves, ripped jeans, they will take you to a detention center until someone comes and gets you clothes that fit,” Asal Rad, director of research at the National Iranian American Council, said.
The morality police also have the power to arrest and detain unrelated men and women who are found to be intoxicated or attending parties or gatherings together.
The moral police feel that they have a responsibility to uphold what is right and oppose what is wrong. There have been different interpretations and opinions about this. They behave more strictly on religious holidays and during elections.
It wasn’t until the Iran-Iraq war in the 1990s that the country’s morality police officially became a separate unit, says Roxanne Farmanfarmian, who teaches international politics in the Middle East and North Africa at the University of Cambridge. Since then, many women have been harassed in public because of their clothing. In Iran, the law requiring women to wear headscarves has been in force since 1979. After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president of Iran in the mid-2000s, efforts to enforce these laws intensified.
What is the Mahsa Amini case?
On September 13th, Sadachara Police took Mahsa Amina into custody for allegedly not wearing the mandatory hijab. The 22-year-old had come from the western province of Kurdistan to the capital, Tehran. Amini fell into a coma within hours of her arrest. Amini died on September 16. There were also reports that Amini was beaten up by the morality police. But the Iranian government has denied the allegation that Amini was beaten.
State television reported that Amini, who was brought to the police station, collapsed during a verbal argument with the policewoman. Iran’s security forces said in a statement that Amini suffered a heart attack while teaching about hijab rules at the detention center. But Amini’s family says that she was perfectly healthy before her arrest.
Is Iran’s Moral Police Gone?
The Attorney General of Iran, Mohammad Jafar Montesseri, announced that the morality police had been disbanded the other day. The Religious Affairs Police has nothing to do with the Judiciary. Therefore, Montessori announced that the system is being abolished.
Under moderate former president Hassan Rouhani, women in tight jeans and loose headscarves were seen in the country. The current president, Ibrahim Faizi, has adopted a slightly stricter stance. “The enemies of Iran and Islam are working to spread corruption and destroy the cultural and religious values of the society,” says Raisi. Meanwhile, many women are seen violating such laws in the country. Women now appear in the major cities and towns of the country wearing headscarves and jeans with their hair visible.
Similar to Iran, Saudi Arabia also had a morality police to enforce women’s dress codes and other rules of conduct. But compared to them, the police in Iran took a slightly more relaxed approach. Since 2016, Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its morality police.
oppression and persecution
Over the years, many incidents of moral policing have been reported in Iran. According to a BBC report in May 2018, in the capital Tehran alone, more than 35 female protesters have been arrested since December 2017. Women participating in anti-hijab protests face up to ten years in prison.
In April 2018, the BBC also reported that a woman in Tehran was beaten by a female morality police officer for not wearing a headscarf. The video of the incident was circulated on social media. The video has over 3 million views and over 30,000 comments. The incident led to various protests around the world. Iran’s Women’s Affairs Vice President Masoumeh Ebthekar also came to the scene to condemn the violence. They also stated that such activities cannot be justified in any way.
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