In Iran, the feared vice police, which until now were mainly responsible for enforcing dress codes for women, seem to have been disbanded. “The vice squad has been disbanded, but the judiciary will continue to face this societal challenge,” Shargh daily quoted Attorney General Mohammed Jafar Montazeri as saying on Sunday. There were no further details.
Critics from the political leadership reacted cautiously to the announcement. The problem is not the moral police, but the headscarf requirement, an Iranian activist wrote on Twitter. “Women should be able to go everywhere without a headscarf,” he demanded. And this is “just the first step.” According to observers, the dissolution of the vice police does not mean the end of the compulsory headscarf for women, but it does represent an important partial success for the women’s movement in Iran.
The moral police were the cause of the riots
The vice squad has been the catalyst for the country’s systemic uprisings that have been going on for more than two months. In mid-September, Islamic moral guardians arrested 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. A few strands of hair would peek out from under her headscarf. Amini died a few days later in the custody of the vice squad. Since then, people in Iran have been protesting against the Islamic system and its laws and regulations.
Women are increasingly ignoring dress codes
Since the outbreak of the protests, many women, especially in big cities, have increasingly ignored the headscarf and Islamic dress code. Accordingly, in public, women must wear a headscarf and a long, baggy coat to cover their hair and body contours. This law has been part of Iran’s socio-political doctrine for over 40 years to, as it is called, “save the country and people from Western cultural invasion”.
About 470 protesters, including 64 children and 60 security forces, have been killed since the protests began, according to human rights activists. Official information on this is contradictory. The Security Council speaks of 200, a Revolutionary Guard commander of 300 dead.
Thousands of arrests across the country
In addition, thousands have been arrested in the past two months, including students, journalists, athletes and artists. Some protesters have also been sentenced to death by revolutionary courts. Further protests – and strikes, according to opposition circles – are planned across the country from Monday.
Source: Krone
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