‘I will never wear a headscarf again’: Outrage in Iran after woman dies in custody
- Thread starter bnew
- Start date
Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols
The controversial police unit enforces Iran's strict dress code and has been accused of brutality.
www.bbc.com
Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols
- 6 hours ago
SOURCE,REUTERS
Iran's controversial morality police are tasked with enforcing the country's strict dress code (file image)
By Laura Gozzi
BBC News
Iranian police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports.
The "morality police" will return to the streets to enforce Iran's hijab laws, a spokesman said on Sunday.
It comes 10 months after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaking the dress code.
Her death triggered massive national protests and the patrols were paused.
However, Islamic hardliners have been demanding that the patrols be resumed for some time.
Under Iranian law, which is based on the country's interpretation of Sharia, women must cover their hair with a hijab (headscarf) and wear long, loose-fitting clothing to disguise their figures.
The morality police unit is tasked with ensuring those rules are respected, and detaining people who are perceived to be "improperly" dressed.
During the patrols, officers will first warn women who are not complying with the rules, police spokesman Saeed Montazerolmahdi said, as quoted by hardline Tasnim news agency.
If they disobey orders, police may then opt for "legal action", he added.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was visiting the capital Tehran with her family last September when she was arrested by morality police and accused of wearing her hijab "improperly".
She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated". At the time, there were reports that officers beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles.
It enraged millions of Iranians - leading to months of violent anti-government protests across the country, that saw nearly 600 protesters killed, including several state executions.
In the months following the protests, many women stopped wearing hijabs altogether. It was the biggest outright challenge to the rule of the clerics in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
Videos posted on social media suggest that, until recently, the sight of women not wearing hijabs was becoming more commonplace.
But in turn, the Iranian authorities brought in stiffer punishments, including forcing businesses to close if they did not comply with the hijab laws.
Although the protests drew out huge numbers of Iranians, some people still staunchly support the strict dress code.
Earlier this year, a video emerged showing a man throwing a tub of yoghurt in the face of two unveiled women. His action was met with outrage by male and female bystanders, and he was later arrested - but so were the women.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency, university student Ismail said she did not think the authorities would be able to reimpose the dress codes.
"They cannot impose it like before - the number of people who do not obey is too high now," she said. "They cannot handle all of us, the last thing they can do is use violence and force against us. They cannot do it."
Iran has had various forms of "morality police" since the revolution. This latest version, known formally as the Guidance Patrol (Gasht-e Ershad), began their patrols in 2006.
It is unclear how many men and women work for the force, but they have access to weapons and detention centres, as well as what are called "re-education centres".
In response to Iran's violent crackdown on protesters, the UK and other Western countries imposed sanctions on the morality police and other top security figures last year.
The BBC has mapped how the death of Mahsa Amini sparked widespread unrest in Iran
Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring.
Iran sex tape scandal: Government says no prior knowledge of alleged behaviour
A video - which is unverified - allegedly shows a regional head of Islamic guidance having sex with another man.
www.bbc.com
Iranian Official Responsible for Enforcing Hijab, Suspended After Video of Him Engaging in Sex with a Man Emerges
Same-sex relations are illegal in Iran with some even receiving the death penalty for their involvement.
www.ibtimes.sg
Iran sex tape scandal: Government says no prior knowledge of alleged behaviour
A video - which is unverified - allegedly shows a regional head of Islamic guidance having sex with another man.www.bbc.comIranian Official Responsible for Enforcing Hijab, Suspended After Video of Him Engaging in Sex with a Man Emerges
Same-sex relations are illegal in Iran with some even receiving the death penalty for their involvement.
You can't make it up.
Isn't that punishable by death?
Iran protests: Return of morality police met by defiance
The hijab police are back on the streets after nearly a year, but protesters are emboldened.
www.bbc.com
Iran protests: Return of morality police met by defiance
- Published
4 days ago
- Published
Share
Image caption,
The morality police were withdrawn after protests erupted last year
By Mehrzad Kohanrouz
BBC World Service
As the lights dimmed at a cultural festival in the Iranian capital, Tehran, earlier this month, women in the audience were defiantly dancing, singing and clapping along to the music at the landmark Milad Tower.
They were also waving their hijabs (headscarves) in the air and that, according to Iran's interpretation of Islamic law, is crossing a major line.
The hijab is a powerful political symbol in the Islamic republic, a bedrock of the ideology of the country's clerical establishment.
Women who flout the mandatory dress code can face severe punishment, but since nationwide protests began in September, many younger Iranians have been openly questioning Iran's strict hijab regulations, sometimes in public displays of civil disobedience.
Patrols by the country's morality police - whose job it is to enforce the hijab regulations - had been paused since the protests erupted following the death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaking the strict hijab rules.
But Iran has recently restored the morality police patrols to the streets as a "countermeasure against hijab negligence", according to a police spokesperson.
It is a move which is likely to lead to further confrontation between the authorities and protesters.
"This is a clear and explicit declaration of war against the people" one Iranian respondent, whose name is being withheld for their own safety, told BBC Persian's Instagram channel.
In a defiant voice, they said they hoped this time round "people will make the most of the regime's repeated mistakes and overthrow the whole system".
Image caption,
Women set fire to their headscarves in protest at being forced to wear them
While the government insists that the decision to revive the morality police has been based on a popular demand, it has drawn much criticism.
Iran's former president, Mohammad Khatami, has said that the reappearance of the morality vans is a self-destructive move by the government which will further increase tensions in society and could lead to "social implosion".
A former official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that "wrong decisions may have painful consequences for the establishment. People cannot take more pressure. If it continues, we will witness street protests again".
Confrontations have already occurred between the police and bystanders over the enforcement of the regulations.
In a video obtained by the BBC thought to have been filmed on 16 July, people in the northern city of Rasht are seen stopping the police from arresting three girls for violating the dress code.
If the authorities are stepping up their policing of the regulations, those that oppose the compulsory hijab seem intent to continue their resistance.
This month, the trial of one of the country's foremost female political prisoners, Sepideh Gholian, did not take place because she refused to wear a hijab in the court.
The 29-year-old human rights activist has been in jail for the past six years for reporting on an industrial dispute in south-west Iran.
She was released earlier this year having served her sentence, but was promptly arrested and imprisoned again for shouting slogans against Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, outside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.
"We seem to be at a stalemate," says Mehrzad Boroujerdi, dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education at Missouri University of Science and Technology and co-author of a book on the country's politics, Postrevolutionary Iran.
He says the battle of narratives for the future of Iran continues.
"The opposition has not been able to overthrow the clerical regime and the state has been unable to win over the citizenry due to its brutally repressive measures and unwillingness to address any of the demands of the citizenry."
Image caption,
Actresses Afsaneh Baygan (L), Leila Bolukat (C) and Azadeh Samadi were punished for defying hijab regulations
These measures include some unconventional punishments for those who defy the hijab regulations.
On one occasion, a court sentenced a woman who allegedly violated the hijab rules to washing corpses - a religious practice performed in a mortuary before burial - for a month.
Similarly, two prominent female film celebrities, Afsaneh Baygan and Azadeh Samadi, were sentenced to compulsory psychotherapy courses each week as a form of treatment.
A third, Leila Bolukat, received a one-year prison sentence for "removing the hijab" and "disturbing the public mind" after she appeared wearing a hat, instead of a headscarf, at a public event.
Amid a furious backlash from critics of the religious establishment, newspapers associated with the government rushed to defend the rulings, arguing the celebrities would be "cured" through these measures.
)
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
www.firstpost.com
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women's adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
Abhishek Awasthi Last Updated:July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Representational Image.
An Iranian official responsible for enforcing the controversial hijab law has been suspended from his position in the wake of a circulating video allegedly showing him engaging in gay sex.
The authenticity of the video, purportedly featuring Reza Tsaghati, the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, has not been officially confirmed.
According reports, Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab.
His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions.
Same-sex relations are prohibited in Iran, with potential penalties, even the death penalty, for those involved. The LGBTQ community in the country faces discrimination and marginalization.
Recently, during a visit to Uganda, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly criticized Western attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. He accused the West of attempting to propagate homosexuality to disrupt human procreation.
In the past, Iran witnessed powerful protests related to the hijab and religious enforcement following the death of Mahsa Amini.
The young woman had been taken into custody by the morality police for alleged dress code violations. These demonstrations escalated into demands for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, as protesters accused them of corruption and repression.
The Iranian government attributed the protests to foreign interference but provided no concrete evidence to support their claims.
Published on: July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women's adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
Abhishek Awasthi Last Updated:July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Representational Image.
An Iranian official responsible for enforcing the controversial hijab law has been suspended from his position in the wake of a circulating video allegedly showing him engaging in gay sex.
The authenticity of the video, purportedly featuring Reza Tsaghati, the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, has not been officially confirmed.
According reports, Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab.
His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions.
Same-sex relations are prohibited in Iran, with potential penalties, even the death penalty, for those involved. The LGBTQ community in the country faces discrimination and marginalization.
Recently, during a visit to Uganda, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly criticized Western attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. He accused the West of attempting to propagate homosexuality to disrupt human procreation.
In the past, Iran witnessed powerful protests related to the hijab and religious enforcement following the death of Mahsa Amini.
The young woman had been taken into custody by the morality police for alleged dress code violations. These demonstrations escalated into demands for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, as protesters accused them of corruption and repression.
The Iranian government attributed the protests to foreign interference but provided no concrete evidence to support their claims.
Published on: July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Gay sex and he's still alive???
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
Iran's official in-charge for enforcing hijab, chastity caught having gay sex on camera, fired
Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women's adherence to wearing the hijab. His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions
Abhishek Awasthi Last Updated:July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Representational Image.
An Iranian official responsible for enforcing the controversial hijab law has been suspended from his position in the wake of a circulating video allegedly showing him engaging in gay sex.
The authenticity of the video, purportedly featuring Reza Tsaghati, the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, has not been officially confirmed.
According reports, Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for women’s adherence to wearing the hijab.
His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions.
Same-sex relations are prohibited in Iran, with potential penalties, even the death penalty, for those involved. The LGBTQ community in the country faces discrimination and marginalization.
Recently, during a visit to Uganda, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly criticized Western attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. He accused the West of attempting to propagate homosexuality to disrupt human procreation.
In the past, Iran witnessed powerful protests related to the hijab and religious enforcement following the death of Mahsa Amini.
The young woman had been taken into custody by the morality police for alleged dress code violations. These demonstrations escalated into demands for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, as protesters accused them of corruption and repression.
The Iranian government attributed the protests to foreign interference but provided no concrete evidence to support their claims.
Published on: July 31, 2023 12:40:30 IST
Iran’s ‘gender apartheid’ bill could jail women for 10 years for not wearing hijab
Shops that serve unveiled women could be shut under draft law UN human rights body says suppresses women into ‘total submission’
www.theguardian.com
Iran’s ‘gender apartheid’ bill could jail women for 10 years for not wearing hijab
Shops that serve unveiled women could be shut under draft law UN human rights body says suppresses women into ‘total submission’About this content
Deepa Parent
Wed 13 Sep 2023 05.00 EDT
Iranian women attend a pro-hijab rally in Tehran this summer. Many others, however, are risking their lives to defy the rules. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
Women in Iran face up to 10 years in prison if they continue to defy the country’s mandatory hijab law, under harsher laws awaiting approval by authorities. Even businesses that serve women without a hijab face being shut down.
The stricter dress code, which amounts to “gender apartheid”, UN experts said, comes one year after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been detained for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly. Her death, after allegedly being beaten by police, led to the largest wave of popular unrest for years in Iran.
The length of prison sentences contained in the draft law was comparable to those for serious offences such as murder and drug trafficking, said an Iranian human rights lawyer, Hossein Raeesi. “That’s ridiculous to even think about.”
The hijab and chastity bill details punishments including more than 60 lashes, heavy fines and prison terms. It also warns businesses of closure and other serious consequences if found to be providing services to women with “improper dress code”.
Elnaz*, an Iranian journalist, said: “With the new law, the government is telling us women that we will go to prison for up to 10 years if we don’t wear a hijab. What next? A death penalty for defying the new hijab law?”
Veiled Iranian women pass by a bareheaded woman in Tehran this summer. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA
The draft law follows renewed patrolling by the “morality police” and widens “gender segregation” in universities, hospitals, parks and workplaces. It amounts to an apparent attempt at “suppressing women and girls into total submission”, said a group of UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts.
Farah*, a finance student from Tehran, said: “The Islamic Republic has taken a cue from the Taliban to slowly ban us from public places. They want to erase women from society.”
The organisation Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) said the new law was being reviewed by Iran’s Guardian Council, a powerful body that vets legislation and oversees elections. It comprises 12 men and is headed by a recently re-elected 97-year-old cleric, Ahmad Jannati, who has been its chair since 1988.
They are tasked with reviewing the bill’s provisions and ensuring its alignment with Islamic law. Once endorsed, the bill would return to parliament and could come into force as early as October, said the HRA.
‘There’s no other option but to fight’: Iranian women defiant as ‘morality police’ returnRead more
Iranian authorities are investing heavily in smart cameras that use facial-recognition technology, according to security and women’s rights activists. Cameras are said to also be capable of sending alerts when they detect a larger number of people gathering in one place.
According to Kurdish residents of Amini’s home town, Saqqez, security forces have set up more checkpoints to detain women flouting the dress code and also those preparing to protest on the anniversary of her death.
Protesters interviewed by the Guardian said they were preparing to march on the streets on 16 September and reach the graves of protesters who were killed by security forces over the past year.
* Names have been changed to protect identities
Women's hair = absolute haramGay sex and he's still alive???
Tickling doo doo logs = sort of haram...?
Damn RIP.
Iran sex tape scandal: Government says no prior knowledge of alleged behaviour
A video - which is unverified - allegedly shows a regional head of Islamic guidance having sex with another man.www.bbc.comIranian Official Responsible for Enforcing Hijab, Suspended After Video of Him Engaging in Sex with a Man Emerges
Same-sex relations are illegal in Iran with some even receiving the death penalty for their involvement.
It never fails with these religious zealots . @ScottyG is the next undercover down-low man to be exposed
DaKidFromNoWhere
Superstar
When women complain about American men.
Link them to stories like this...
Link them to stories like this...
