Iran has abolished the morality police, a force that specifically detains women who do not wear headscarves in accordance with the country’s mandated codes, the country’s attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, said.
In making the announcement on Saturday night, Montazeri stressed that the police had “nothing to do with the judiciary,” according to Iranian news agency ISNA.
Analysts see the moral police’s decision as a concession to the anti-people movement the country has been experiencing for three months.
Montazeri explained that the judiciary continues to monitor behavior at the community level, and women’s clothing is particularly important, especially in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran.
“The ill-fated ‘hijab’ (Islamic veil) in the country, especially in the holy city of Qom, is one of the main concerns of the judiciary and our revolutionary society, but it should be noted that legal action is a last resort. And cultures come before others,” Montessori explained in a meeting with Qom clerics.
The city of Qom is the theological center of Iran, where the country’s main religious schools are located and where thousands of pilgrims and students from all over the world come to study.
Iran has been experiencing widespread protests since September 16, after the death of 22-year-old Kurd Mahza Amini in police custody.
The protests also included calls for an end to the Islamic Republic.
“It’s not a struggle, it’s a revolution”, “We don’t want an Islamic Republic”, “Death to the dictator”, are some of the phrases demonstrators shout from their windows at street demonstrations or at night. And have been writing on the walls of the building since last September.
According to Iran’s Security Council, “more than 200 people” have died since the protests began, but foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) estimate the death toll. 448 due to strong police repression.
In addition, at least 2,000 people were charged with various crimes for participating in the demonstrations, six of whom were sentenced to death.
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