Iran’s ‘morality police’ back in action 10 months after nationwide protests 

Iran’s notorious morality police have resumed patrolling the streets of the country, after policing efforts had been scaled back following nationwide protests that broke out across the country last year. 

Following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while she was held in police custody, tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest, in what some analysts say was the ‘biggest challenge‘ posed against the government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

During the mass protests, which lasted for months, the morality police were largely absent from Iranian streets, refraining from highly confrontational methods of enforcing mandatory hijab laws that were imposed shortly after the ‘79 revolution. There were even some reports – later denied – that they had been disbanded.

The protests largely died down earlier this year, after a brutal crackdown in which more than 500 protestors were killed and nearly 20,000 detained by authorities. 

Saeid Montazeralmahdi, the spokesperson for the Iranian law enforcement force, confirmed on Sunday that police patrols were now operational on foot and with vehicles to crack down on people whose head covering is not deemed appropriate in the Islamic Republic, according to Al-Jazeera.

The Guardian reported that in Tehran, morality police has been seen patrolling the streets in marked vans.

For the past few months, morality police have also been employing surveillance cameras with face-recognition software to identify hijab violators. The violators are given warnings, fines, or sent to appear in court.

Mahsa Amini was detained last year on September 13th, on accounts of violating the draconian dress code law the Iranian government has in place, which mandates women wearing the hijab. According to authorities, Mahsa Amini was not wearing her hijab ‘properly’.

Witnesses reported that she was beaten by morality police after her arrest in Tehran. The morality police maintain that Mahsa Amini suffered a heart attack and died. 

Demonstrators initially gathered outside Kasra hospital in Tehran, where Amini was being treated. Human rights groups reported that security forces deployed pepper spray against protesters and that several were arrested.

This year alone, there have been many high-profile hijab related incidents, including an incident in Mashadd, where a man dumped yoghurt on two women for not wearing the hijab properly. All three parties were arrested by authorities.