An Iranian paramilitary group will deploy thousands of volunteers to clamp down on women who violate the Islamic dress code, media reported, in a new push-back against government efforts to liberalize society.
Ansar-e-Hezbollah, which receives its funding from conservative sources outside the government, hasn’t applied for a required permit from the Interior Ministry to carry out the patrols, the Shargh newspaper cited Deputy Interior Minister Hossein-Ali Amiri as saying. Its work would parallel the activity of police squads empowered to arrest women who don’t abide by the dress code, which requires women to wear head scarves and loose-fitting coats.
The new patrols are part of a broader struggle between the year-old government of President Hassan Rouhani, who has promised greater social liberties, and conservatives defending the status quo. Rouhani has challenged the notion of enforced morality, saying earlier this month that Iranian women “are an educated community” able to promote chastity on their own.
Rouhani aides referred calls to the vice president’s office. An official there, speaking anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to comment, said any reaction would be announced through state media. An employee at the public affairs office of the Interior Ministry, who didn’t identify herself, also declined to comment.
Women in Iran have been subjected to a dress code since the 1979 revolution that ushered in the Islamic Republic. Violators may be arrested by police who ply streets in minivans, known as “guidance patrols.”
When we are old and grey, what will we look back on and wish we did differently? What memories will we cherish, what choices will we regret?
