As part of an intensified effort to enforce the compulsory dress code, Iranian authorities are implementing cameras in public spaces and thoroughfares to identify and penalize women who don’t wear veils.
According to a police statement, those violating the dress code will receive “warning text messages about the consequences.”
This measure is intended to “curb defiance of the hijab law,” as the statement explained, adding that such defiance damages Iran’s spiritual image and leads to insecurity. The trend of Iranian women forgoing their veils has grown since the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in the custody of morality police last September. Despite the risk of arrest, unveiled women continue to be seen in public places nationwide.
The police statement also urged business owners to “seriously monitor adherence to social norms through their vigilant inspections.” Iran’s Islamic Sharia law, established after the 1979 revolution, requires women to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothes. Those who violate this code have faced public condemnation, fines, or arrest.
The Interior Ministry, referring to the veil as “one of the civilizational foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” stated on March 30 that there would be no compromise on the issue. The ministry encouraged citizens to confront unveiled women, which has historically led to hardliners attacking women, as seen in a recent viral video of a man throwing yogurt at two unveiled women in a store.
