The Iranian government has reportedly suspended its morality police force and reviewing the mandatory hijab rule. Aljazeera reported quoting Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri that the operations of morality police are over.
The morality police “has no connection with the judiciary and was shut down by the same place that it had been launched from in the past,” he was quoted saying by the publication.
The morality police would move around in white and green vans asking telling women on the streets to fix their headscarves. Else they are taken to so-called ‘re-education’ centres if deemed required.
The death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini allegedly in the custody of morality police triggered widespread protests in Iran. Amini was picked up by the morality police allegedly for not wearing her hijab properly.
Regarding amending the existing laws regarding the dress code, Montazeri reportedly said that the parliament and judiciary were looking into it. “The review team met on Wednesday with parliament’s cultural commission and will see the results in a week or two”, The Guardian quoted him saying.
The US Treasury Department in late September sanctioned Iran’s morality police, including seven senior military officials, holding them responsible for Amini’s death. In October, the EU also imposed sanctions on Iran’s morality police and the information minister over their alleged involvement in action against anti-government demonstrations triggered by Amini’s death.
