Iranian police announced today that they have started using “smart” devices to identify and punish women who do not comply with the strict dress code, in an attempt to enforce Islamic law following protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who had been detained on the grounds of not properly wearing the headscarf in public.
In a statement published on its website, the police stated that “from today” “carefully planned actions” will be applied to public roads, vehicles and “places where sometimes [las mujeres] take off the hijab.”
“The technology will be used for the intelligent identification of people who break the law,” said the security body.
For months, a growing number of Iranians have ignored the dress code that governs Iran, which includes the mandatory use of the veil in public, especially since the wave of demonstrations unleashed by the death, on September 16, of Amini.
The authorities repressed these protests causing the death of some 500 people, thousands of detainees at the same time that they handed down four death sentences by hanging and one of them was carried out in public.
In recent weeks, tensions over the non-use of the garment have intensified, with men attacking women for not wearing the veil.
“According to the laws in force, removing the hijab is considered a crime,” said Hasan Mofakhmi, head of police security, in the statement quoted by the AFP news agency.
“People who break the law are responsible for their actions and must be held accountable for their behavior,” he added.
Mofakhmi also indicated that he will send warnings to companies whose employees remove their headscarves in the workplace, and that, in case of recurrence, the business may be closed.
Last week, the police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, declared that “people who remove the hijab will be identified with the help of intelligent equipment.”
“People who remove their hijab in public places will first receive a warning and then they will be brought before the courts,” Radan warned.
According to him, vehicle owners will also receive a warning message if a passenger violates the dress code. The owner risks having his car repossessed in case of a repeat offense, Radan said.
Source: Ambito
