Despite previous announcements that the State Security Force would not physically confront women on the streets and that the enforcement of the Hijab Law would be done through digital systems, a new announcement has been made that teams will be formed to deal with women who remove their hijabs in public places.
Isfahan’s prosecutor, Mohammad Moussavian, announced a tripartite memorandum of understanding between the Judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the Headquarters for Enforcing Good and Prohibiting Evil, which includes the formation of these teams.
Speaking at a ceremony honoring those who engage in “anti-vice” warnings, Moussavian pointed to the signing of this memorandum and said that teams would be formed to deal with violators of the Hijab Law in public places. He also mentioned the formation of particular branches in the Judiciary to fight against those who break the norms and remove their Hijab due to the importance of enjoining good and forbidding evil. (The state-run Eghtesaad24.ir, April 21, 2023)
However, at a news conference on March 26, 2023, mullah Hossein Jalali, a member of the mullahs’ parliament, stated that the new Hijab Plan would be implemented through an intelligent system and would not entail physical confrontation with women who do not observe the veil. The plan includes financial punishments ranging from half a million to three billion tomans, cancellation of driver’s licenses and passports, and a ban on internet use.
In addition to using financial punishments, the State Security Force announced on April 8 that they would deploy CCTV cameras to identify women who breach the Hijab Law and avoid physical tension with them. Once identified, violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences.” (The state-run ISNA news agency, April 8, 2023)
It has been reported that the regime uses face recognition technology to identify women who remove their hijabs in public places.
Moussavian’s stress on forming teams to deal with Hijab violators is reminiscent of the violent confrontations with Iranian women by the Guidance Patrols (Morality Police), which led to the death of Mahsa Amini last September.
In another news related to restrictions on Iranian women, an explosion in a women’s beauty salon in Qom injured two. According to state media reports, the explosion occurred on Thursday night, April 20, at 21:39 in a women’s beauty salon on Attaran Boulevard in Qom. Women’s hairdressing salons in Qom have been inspected many times in the past few months, and some have been sealed under various pretexts.
