Fashion police hit Tehran streets

Women who 'dress like models' and men with Western haircuts face arrest

Agence France-Presse/July 24, 2007
By Farhad Pouladi

Tehran -- Iran has launched a new wave of a moral crackdown against women who "dress like models" and men whose hairstyles are deemed un-Islamic.

Tehran's police force dispatched dozens of police cars and minibuses into the early evening rush hour yesterday to enforce the dress code at major squares in the city centre.

Women in Iran are obliged to cover all bodily contours as well as their heads, but in recent years many have pushed the boundaries by showing off bare ankles and fashionably styled hair beneath their head scarves.

The new plan "to increase security in society" - which is limited to Tehran, but will later be extended nationwide - comes after a pre-summer drive by police resulted in thousands of warnings and hundreds of arrests.

"We have vowed to continue the campaign to reinforce the plan to increase security in society with new personnel who have received the necessary training," the Tehran police head of information, Mehdi Ahmadi, said as the first officers were dispatched.

"This notably includes the use of 100 female police officers," he added.

Mr. Ahmadi said that the campaign would target women who are poorly veiled, wear overly tight overcoats, sport excessively short trousers and are "dressed like models."

"As far as men are concerned, we will act against those who have Western-style haircuts and clothing. We are also going to act against clothes shops and hairdressers."

In Vanak Square in central Tehran, female police officers were escorting women to a waiting minibus. Other women were seen quickly adjusting their head scarves to cover loose hair when they saw the officers.

Mr. Ahmadi said the policy will be first to give a verbal warning to those who infringe the law and, if necessary, they will then be arrested and taken for "consultation."

"Normally the problem is resolved here. If not, and these cases are often those of reoffenders, the case is sent to the judiciary," he said.

Many conservatives have applauded the crackdown as important to protect the security of society, but moderates have publicly questioned whether Iran would be better off tackling poverty and crime rather than slack dressing.

Ahmad Reza Radan, the head of Tehran's police, emphasized that the plan is not restricted to enforcing Islamic dress rules but also targets all those who disrupt "security" in society.

"In this plan, sexual harassment in the street, addicts and hooligans and the security of recreational places will be targeted," he told the ISNA news agency.

He added that the police would also step up the fight against what he described as "sexually deviant groups and Satan-worshipping cults."

"Some young people, intentionally or unwittingly, are walking advertisements for Western deviant sexual and Satan-worshipping cults. In this plan such people will be identified and confronted."