In a rare move, Iranian newspapers on Thursday criticized the country’s vice squad, which is tasked with ensuring adherence to Islamic laws, after viral video was shown of a woman pleading for her daughter’s release.
The criticism surfaced as public debate over the hijab, a compulsory head covering for women, resurfaced after local media reported measures that could indicate tighter controls.
The Morality Police patrol the streets with orders to enter public areas to check implementation of the headscarf law and other Islamic regulations.
Morale officials became a much rarer sight after moderate President Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013, but the force has had a renewed presence in recent weeks under his successor, the ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raisi.
The video, which has been shared widely on social media in Iran, showed a woman standing in front of a green-striped white van belonging to Tehran’s Morality Police – commonly known as Gasht-e Ershad, or “lead patrol”. She yelled that her daughter, who was said to have been carried away in the van, was ill.
The veiled women continued to hold on to the vehicle, attempting to stop it as it began to move slowly before finally being pulled to one side. The van sped away.
It was unclear whether the woman’s daughter had allegedly violated the hijab law or other Islamic regulations, but the reformist daily Sazandegi published a drawing of the scene on its front page on Thursday with the caption “Stop the vice police”.
Similar calls echoed in reformist newspapers, with Arman-e Melli urging police “to be kind” and Shargh warning that “urban peace is in a bind”.
The video, which could not be independently verified by AFP, circulated widely earlier this week.
Tehran police said they were patrolling west of the capital.
“Following this incident…the matter was immediately investigated…and disciplinary action was taken against the police patrol chief for mismanagement,” Tehran’s chief of police inspection, Hamid Khorvash, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA on Thursday.
“Today, this citizen’s mother was comforted and this citizen also appreciated the speedy handling and follow-up of this matter,” he added, without elaborating.
– Political Debate –
The debate also reached the political stage.
Hassan Khomeini, a reformist figure and grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, posted the scene on Instagram.
“Whatever this is, it is not guidance, it is not Islamic, it is not wise and has no benefit,” he wrote Tuesday on his official page, which has more than 600,000 followers.
Ahmad Khatami, a conservative member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts charged with electing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, defended the morality commissioners.
Khatami said the hijab law “needs to be implemented”.
“Unfortunately, some people do not adhere to the hijab and even remove their coverings in public places, which is against the law,” he was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency on Thursday.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the law required all women, regardless of nationality or religious beliefs, to wear a hijab that covers the head and neck while covering the hair.
Many have pushed the boundaries over the past two decades, allowing the hijab to slide back and reveal more hair, particularly in Tehran and other major cities, and the actions of the vice squad have previously been criticized.
Rouhani, then-president, warned in 2018 that “promoting virtue through violence will not work” after video surfaced of a violent encounter between a woman and morality officials.
Earlier this month, local media reported that women in Iran’s second largest city Mashhad are banned from using the subway unless they wear a head covering, and three cafes in downtown Qom have been closed because customers were not wearing headscarves.
Raisi, who came to power last year, this month called for “full implementation” of hijab laws and rules, state media reported.
He stressed that “the enemies of Iran and Islam” are targeting “religious foundations and values of society,” IRNA reported July 5.
“Necessary and preventive measures should be taken,” added the President, calling on the relevant institutions – including the Vice Police – to “take systematic and integrated measures in this regard”.
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