‘Morality Police’ Abolished: Iranian Attorney General

Iran’s conservative government has abolished the morality police after two months of protests across the country.

According to Al Jazeera.com, Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Al-Muntzari has said that the operations of the moral police have been suspended in the country.

He was speaking at an event on Saturday where he spoke about ‘hybrid warfare during the recent protests.’

French news agency AFP quoted local media as saying that the Attorney General said that the operations of the moral police had been terminated.

The protests in Iran began after the September 6 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a woman arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Iranian authorities have labeled the women-led protests as ‘riots’ and accused foreign involvement.

According to Iran’s news agency Asna, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar al-Muntzari says: ‘The moral police has nothing to do with the judiciary.’

According to the attorney: ‘The moral police has nothing to do with the judiciary and has stopped where it started in the past.’ He was allegedly answering the question of why the moral police was abolished.

There was no other confirmation that patrolling police units, officially charged with ‘moral security’ in society, had been disbanded, nor did Montazeri state that the moral police would be suspended indefinitely. has been terminated.

There was also no indication that the law mandating women to wear specific clothing would be scrapped.

Iran’s morality police, formally known as Gesht Irshad or ‘Leader Patrol’, was established under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and aims to promote a culture of ‘modesty and veiling’. Dina, under which head covering is mandatory for women.

Moral police started patrolling in 2006.

The announcement of the end of the force came a day after Montazeri’s statement, in which he said parliament and the judiciary were working on the hijab law to see if it would be enforced. needs to be changed.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisani said in a televised statement on Saturday that Iran’s democratic and Islamic foundations are in its constitution. “But there are those who enforce the constitution that have flexibility.”

After the 1979 revolution in Iran, the hijab was made compulsory for women. Through this revolution, the American-backed monarchy was abolished and the Islamic Republic was established in the country.

15 years ago, ethical police officers used to give warnings to women before taking action or arresting them.

The moral police force usually consisted of men in green uniforms and women in black cloaks covering the head and upper body.

The role of the police has changed, but it has always been controversial even for presidential candidates. Women’s clothing underwent gradual changes, especially under moderate President Hassan Rouhani, when loose-fitting jeans and colorful dupattas became the norm.

In July this year, Hassan Rouhani’s predecessor and ultra-hardline Raisani called for all state institutions to be activated to implement the head covering law.

At that time, he alleged that ‘the enemies of Iran and Islam have targeted the cultural and religious values ​​of the society by spreading corruption.’

Nevertheless, many women continued to defy the rules, especially in big cities and towns, by keeping the dupatta over their shoulders or wearing tight pants.