Report comes exactly 10 months after death in custody of Mahsa Amini triggered protests
\nTehran
\nIranian police on Sunday relaunched patrols to catch the increasing number of women leaving their hair uncovered in public in defiance of a strict dress code, state media reported.
\nThe report comes exactly 10 months after the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, triggered nationwide protests and saw morality police largely disappear from the streets, while more and more women flouted the law.
\nAmini, an Iranian-Kurd, had been arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the dress code, which requires women to cover their head and neck in public.
\nWhile the morality police withdrew, authorities have taken other measures to enforce the law. These included the closure of businesses whose staff do not conform to the rules, and installing cameras in public places to track down offenders.
\nBut starting Sunday, the traditional approach is being tried again, state media said. \u201cThe police will launch car and foot patrols to warn, take legal measures, and refer to the judiciary those who disobey police orders and disregard consequences of dressing against the norms,\u201d the official IRNA news agency quoted police spokesman Saeed Montazer Almehdi as saying.
\nOnline images have shown female police officers, clad in all-black chadors, berating and arresting women whose heads were uncovered. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the images.
\nThe dress code has been in place since the aftermath of the Islamic revolution of 1979. Offenders face fines or prison terms of up to two months.<\/p>\n
But Iran\u2019s reformist newspaper Shargh reported on Sunday that four women have received additional punishment including attending \u201cpsychological classes\u201d, and driving bans.<\/p>\n
During the months of protest, which Tehran generally labelled as foreign-instigated \u201criots\u201d, thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed including dozens of security personnel.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s conservatives, who dominate the country\u2019s parliament and leadership, have passionately defended the dress code but, with many Iranians demanding change, in May the judiciary and the government proposed a \u201cSupport for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity\u201d bill, which sparked heated debate within the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Report comes exactly 10 months after death in custody of Mahsa Amini triggered protests Tehran Iranian police on Sunday relaunched patrols to catch the increasing number of women leaving their hair uncovered in public in defiance of a strict dress code, state media reported. The report comes exactly 10 months after the September 16 death […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-343508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n