The ‘morality police’ or ‘guidance patrols’ denote a component of Iranian law enforcement established during ex-president Mahmoud’s dictatorial rule. Although the legal definition of ‘puberty’ in Iran is vague, all women over this age are legally required to cover their hair and shoulders whenever they are out in public (Motamedi, 2022). Girls are required to wear the hijab beginning at age seven in most schools; however, this does not apply to other public settings. Modest dress for both men and women is mandated by Islamic Sharia law, which forms the basis for many of Iran’s social rules (Motamedi, 2022). Yet, in reality, the morality police have traditionally focused on women. This essay discusses a recent headline on abolishing the morality police in Iran. Guidance patrols have been criticized for unfairly detaining women due to the lack of precise criteria and details concerning what types of clothes are deemed inappropriate, leaving much room for interpretation.
Historically, males in green uniforms and females in dark chadars covering the head and torso have comprised morality police departments. Individuals arrested by the morality police are either served with a notice ordering them to undertake a mandatory lesson on the hijab alongside Islamic virtues at an ‘education and advisory center’ or a police station. To be released, they must first call someone to provide them with suitable attire (Hakakian, 2022). The government enforces its model of Islamic clothing, including the hijab, in institutions, national media, and public gatherings. According to a poll issued in 2018 by the Iranian parliament, over two-thirds of Iranian females do not adhere to what they call ‘the Islamic dressing policy’ when they are out in public (Yee & Fassihi, 2022). Despite the strict dress regulations, many Iranian women choose to break them by revealing more skin and hair than is socially acceptable; nonetheless, there are no stringent regulations regarding hair exposure.
The Islamic Republic’s morality police force has been disbanded, as declared by Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri. General Mohammad affirmed that the judiciary would persist in supervising public behavior (Yee & Fassihi, 2022). The proclamation clearly acknowledges the toll the protests had taken on the government since September, when the death in morality police incarceration of a 22-year-old woman female, Mahsa Amini, sparked widespread protests (Yee & Fassihi, 2022). Football stakeholders from Iran were caught in the crossfire at the World Cup in Qatar. They tried to strike a balance between the demands of demonstrators to use the event as a platform for political change and the intolerance of the Qatari government (Ghaedi, 2022). The players refused to do it before their season opener but sang it before another game a few days later, seemingly out of obligation.
The morality police illogically detain females because there is a lack of guidelines and criteria regarding what types of clothing are deemed inappropriate. Former autocratic president Mahmoud of Iran established a branch of Iranian law enforcement called the Morality Police. In public, Iranian women over the age of puberty are required by law to wear scarves and cover their hair and shoulders. Many Iranian women skirt the rules and show more skin and hair than is considered proper despite the country’s strict dress code. According to Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the country’s morality police have been disbanded. The death in police custody of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, sparked mass demonstrations in September. The government’s proclamation is an apparent acknowledgment of the impact the protests have had on the authorities since then.
References
Ghaedi, M. (2022). Who are Iran’s ‘morality police’? DW. Web.
Hakakian, R. (2022). The real reason Iran says it’s canceling the morality police. The Atlantic. Web.
Motamedi, M. (2022). Iran prosecutor general signals ‘morality police’ suspended. Aljazeera. Web.
Yee, V., & Fassihi, F. (2022). Iran has abolished morality police, an official suggests, after months of protests. The New York Times. Web.