Iran Uses Surveillance Cameras to Crack Down on Women Not Wearing Hijabs

After Last Year's Anti-Government Protests, Increase in Unmasked Women
Authorities Say "No Tolerance... All Means Will Be Used for Punishment"

Foreign media reported that Iranian police have even installed surveillance cameras to catch women not properly wearing hijabs.

Local semi-official news agency Mehr News quoted a police statement on the 8th (local time), saying, "On this day, smart cameras were installed in major public places in the city center to identify women not wearing hijabs." It was reported that fines will be imposed on women caught not wearing hijabs.

The police stated, "This measure is to prevent resistance against the law mandating hijab wearing," and claimed, "Not wearing a hijab tarnishes the national image and incites social unrest." They added, "Owners of shopping malls, stores, and restaurants must guide female customers not wearing hijabs to comply with social norms and must not neglect surveillance for this purpose."

In major Iranian cities including Tehran, anti-government protests erupted following the case of Mahsa Amini (22), who was arrested last September for not properly wearing a hijab and died under suspicious circumstances at a police station.

Iranian women residing in Turkey are holding a protest carrying a portrait of Mahsa Amini, who was detained last September for not wearing a hijab and died under suspicious circumstances.

Source: Seoulwire (http://www.seoulwire.com) [Image source=Yonhap News]

Protesters took to the streets demanding an end to mandatory dress codes such as the compulsory headscarf for women, as well as the ousting of the Islamic theocratic regime that has ruled Iran since 1979. Iranian police responded with armed force and harsh crackdowns.

According to international human rights organizations, over 500 protesters have died and around 20,000 have been arrested as the Iranian authorities violently suppressed the anti-government demonstrations.

Since then, protests have continued sporadically, and the number of women walking in the streets without wearing hijabs has noticeably increased in Iran.

In response, the Iranian Ministry of Interior recently issued a statement saying, "The hijab is one of the foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is a principle that allows no concession or tolerance." Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, "Women must wear the hijab as a religious necessity," and "The hijab is a legal matter, and compliance is mandatory."

The judiciary also called not wearing the hijab "abnormal behavior" and emphasized, "All means will be used to punish those who do not wear the hijab."

On the 30th of last month, two mothers and daughters were detained after suffering so-called "yogurt terror" for not wearing hijabs at a supermarket. The two women were arrested after a video surfaced showing a man pouring yogurt over their heads in the supermarket.

Hossein Moslehi Ejei, head of the judiciary, said he would prosecute the two women, stating, "Opposition to the hijab shows hostility towards the Islamic Republic and its values and must be punished without mercy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.