Islamic dress code: Strict dress codes in Iran: “clinic” planned for women

Plans are being pushed forward in Iran for a “rehab clinic” for women who do not adhere to strict dress codes. The initiative comes from an authority that controls compliance with Islamic virtues in society. The authority announced that the new facility was intended to “provide psychological care, healing and guiding women back to Islamic virtues” instead of reporting and convicting them for violations of the dress code.

The news of the re-education clinic causes a lack of understanding in Iran. “This is a joke,” commented the news portal “Khabar-Online”. On social media, some women expressed amusement and spoke of an act of desperation by the Islamic leadership. Even the government of President Massoud Peseschkian distanced itself from the plan on Wednesday and emphasized that it had nothing to do with the matter.

More and more women are ignoring the dress code

Since the beginning of the women’s movement in September 2022, more and more women have been ignoring the Islamic dress code and also foregoing the mandatory headscarf in public. Even the strict and sometimes violent controls of the moral watchdog could not stop the development.

The women’s protests were triggered by the death of the young Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. Because a few strands of hair were visible under her headscarf, she was arrested by the moral police. She later died in police custody.