Iran's morality police return after protests in a new campaign to impose Islamic dress on women

Source: Associated Press

Iran’s morality police return after protests in a new campaign to impose Islamic dress on women

Published 6:09 AM EDT, July 16, 2023

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities on Sunday announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf and morality police returned to the streets 10 months after the death of a woman in their custody sparked nationwide protests.

The morality police had largely pulled back following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, as authorities struggled to contain mass protests calling for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran for over four decades.

The protests largely died down earlier this year following a heavy crackdown in which over 500 protesters were killed and nearly 20,000 detained. But many women continued to flout the official dress code, especially in the capital, Tehran, and other cities.

The morality police were only rarely seen patrolling the streets, and in December, there were even some reports — later denied — that they had been disbanded.

Authorities insisted throughout the crisis that the rules had not changed. ...

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-women-morality-police-07815e10f675ad1be53bf4ac7ba499d0