DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities on Sunday introduced a brand new marketing campaign to pressure girls to put on the Islamic headband and morality police returned to the streets 10 months after the loss of life of a girl of their custody sparked nationwide protests.
The morality police had largely pulled again following the loss of life of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini final September, as authorities struggled to comprise mass protests calling for the overthrow of the theocracy that has dominated Iran for over 4 many years.
The protests largely died down earlier this 12 months following a heavy crackdown wherein over 500 protesters have been killed and almost 20,000 detained. However many women continued to flaunt the official dress code, particularly within the capital, Tehran, and different cities.
The morality police have been solely not often seen patrolling the streets, and in December, there were even some reports — later denied — that that they had been disbanded.
Authorities insisted all through the disaster that the foundations had not modified. Iran’s clerical rulers view the hijab as a key pillar of the Islamic revolution that introduced them to energy, and take into account extra informal costume an indication of Western decadence.
On Sunday, Gen. Saeed Montazerolmahdi, a police spokesman, stated the morality police would resume notifying after which detaining girls not carrying hijab in public. In Tehran, the women and men of the morality police could possibly be seen patrolling the streets in marked vans.
The battle over the hijab turned a robust rallying cry final fall, with girls taking part in a number one position within the protests. The demonstrations shortly escalated into requires the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, whom the largely younger protesters accuse of being corrupt, repressive and out of contact. Iran’s authorities blamed the protests on a overseas conspiracy, with out offering proof.
A number of Iranian celebrities joined the protests, together with outstanding administrators and actors from the nation’s celebrated movie business. Several Iranian actresses were detained after showing in public with out the hijab or expressing assist for the protests.
In the latest case, actress Azadeh Samadi was barred from social media and ordered by a court docket to hunt psychological remedy for “delinquent character dysfunction” after showing at a funeral two months in the past carrying a cap on her head.