Iran has deployed 2,000 new morality police units in reaction to what officials call an “increasing defiance” of the compulsory wearing of hijabs.
The units – called “resistance groups for verbal and practical response to bad-hijabi women” – were launched recently in the northern province of Gilan as part of a pilot scheme. They each have six women with the power to arrest and detain those deemed to be flouting strict veiling laws.
The move comes amid a growing backlash by women in the Islamic Republic, hundreds of whom have been arrested for taking off their head coverings in public in protest at the law.
A campaign called “White Wednesday” that encouraged women to wear white and discard their hijabs has also gained support, much to the consternation of conservative clerics. [National Post] Read more
