Iran Installs Surveillance Cameras In Public Places To Identify Women Without Headscarves

JAKARTA - Iranian authorities are planning over the weekend to install surveillance cameras in public places and highways to identify and punish women who do not wear the headscarf, the latest step in Tehran's efforts to control the growing number of women who defy the headscarf rule.

Once identified, the violators will receive "text messages warning of the consequences," police said in a statement, as reported by The National News on April 9.

The move aims to "prevent resistance to the hijab law," said the statement, which was carried by the Mizan news agency and other state media, adding that such resistance tarnishes Iran's spiritual image and spreads insecurity.

It is known that more and more Iranian women are taking off their veils since the death of a Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, 22, while in the custody of the morality police last September. She was detained for allegedly violating hijab regulations. Security forces violently quelled protests after her death.

Yet, despite the risk of being arrested for defying a mandatory dress code, women are still seen in large numbers naked in malls, restaurants, shops, and streets across the country. Videos showing women stripping off their clothes in defiance of the morality police are flooding social media.

Saturday's police statement on the hijab law, called on business owners to "seriously monitor the observance of societal norms by carrying out strict inspections".

Under Iran's sharia law, which was imposed after the 1979 revolution, women are required to cover their hair, wear long, loose-fitting clothing to camouflage their figures. Violators face a public reprimand, fine, or arrest.