Police in Tehran are conducting a new crackdown on women wearing mandatory headscarves improperly or in “vulgar” dress, the city’s police chief said, according to media reports on Saturday.In Saudi Arabia, there are special religious police to do things like this. In Iran, the regular police are enforcing (current understandings of) Islamic law.
Such operations, which see police screening foot and vehicle traffic at major junctions and shopping centers, are conducted fairly often in Iran.
The latest one was ordered days ahead of the May 4 second round of parliamentary elections, and as the onset of warm spring weather prompts Iranian women to don lighter clothing.
The police chief, Hossein Sajedinia, said the crackdown was “asked for by the people,” the Fars news agency reported.
Women wearing “bad headscarves, bad dress, and model-type women in vulgar dress” would be stopped, he said.
Typically, such women are fined or detained in police stations until relatives collect them hours later with more modest clothing.
Sadejinia said that companies importing “illegal clothes” that do not comply with Islamic dress standards would be given a warning or closed.
That is even worse, but it is an aspect of Iran that Western media rarely discuss.