Cairo: Confusion over the status of Iran’s religious police grew as state media cast doubt on reports the force had been shut down.
Despite the uncertainty, it has appeared for weeks that enforcement of the strict dress code has been scaled back as more women walk the streets without wearing the required headscarf.
The mixed messages have raised speculation that Iran’s cleric-run leadership is considering concessions in an attempt to defuse widespread anti-government protests that are entering the third month.
The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the religious police.
Monday marked the start of another three-day nationwide strike called by protesters. In Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, about a third of the shops were closed, witnesses said. In response, Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi ordered the arrest of anyone encouraging the strike or trying to intimidate shops into shutting down.
The morality police, established in 2005, are tasked with enforcing Iran’s restrictions on public behaviour and strict dress codes — particularly on women, who are required to wear the hijab, or headscarf, and loose-fitting clothes.
Outrage erupted after Amini’s death in the force’s custody in mid-September, after she was arrested for allegedly failing to meet the dress code. Since then, the protests have expanded into calls for the ouster of Iran’s clerical rulers.
Read the article by Jack Jeffery in The Sydney Morning Herald.