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On Sunday, Iranian authorities announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf, and the morality police returned to the streets 10 months after a woman died in custody, sparking protests across the country.
The morality police had largely withdrawn after the death of 22-year-old Mohsa Amini last September, as authorities struggled to contain Mass protests Calling for the overthrow of the theocratic regime that has ruled Iran for more than four decades.
The protests from earlier this year have largely died down after a rigorous campaign More than 500 protesters were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested. But many women continued to wear the uniform, especially in the capital, Tehran, and other cities.
The vice police were rarely seen patrolling the streets, and in December there were some reports – later denied – that they had been disbanded.
The authorities insisted throughout the crisis that the rules had not changed. Iran’s clerical rulers view the veil as a mainstay of the Islamic revolution that brought them to power, and consider casual dress a sign of Western decadence.
Police spokesman Major General Saeed Muntazer Al-Mahdi said on Sunday that the morality police will resume notifying women who do not wear headscarves in public and then detaining them. In Tehran, the men and women of the morality police have been seen patrolling the streets in pickup trucks.
The battle over the headscarf became a powerful rallying cry last fall, with women taking a leading role in the protests. The demonstrations quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers, whom young demonstrators accuse of corruption, repression and out of touch. The Iranian government has blamed the protests on a foreign plot without providing evidence.
Many Iranian celebrities have joined the protests, including prominent directors and actors from the country’s famous film industry. Several Iranian actresses were arrested after they appeared publicly without veils or expressed their support for the protests.
In the latter case, artist Azadeh Samadi was banned from social media and ordered by a court to seek psychiatric treatment for “antisocial personality disorder” after appearing at a funeral two months ago with a hat on her head.
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