Women burned their headscarves in a defiant act of resistance against the strict dress code and those enforcing it after Mahsa Amini, 22, died after being detained by Iran’s so-called morality police. This sparked angry protests.
The Gasht-e Ershad (Guidance Patrols) are specialized law enforcement agencies tasked with upholding Islamic morals and detaining those who appear to be dressed “improperly.”
Women are required to wear long, loose-fitting clothing to hide their figures and cover their hair with a hijab (headscarf) under Iranian law, which is based on the nation’s interpretation of Sharia.
When Ms. Amini was detained by morality police in Tehran on September 13th, there may have been some hair showing through her headscarf. Soon after collapsing at a detention facility, she went into a coma and died three days later in the hospital. The force refuted claims that officers struck her head against a vehicle and beat it with a baton.
One morality police officer gave a rare anonymous interview to the BBC about his time in the force.
“They told us the reason we are working for the morality police units is to protect women,” he said. “Because if they do not dress properly, then men could get provoked and harm them.”
He claimed that they focused on places with a lot of foot traffic and where crowds congregate in teams of six, made up of four men and two women.
“It’s weird, because if we are just going to guide people why do we need to pick somewhere busy that potentially means we could arrest more people?”
“It’s like we are going out for a hunt.”
The officer added that he found it particularly challenging when people resisted arrest and that if he did not identify enough people who were disobeying the dress code, his commander would reprimand him or say he was not working properly.
“They expect us to force them inside the van. Do you know how many times I was in tears while doing it?”
“I want to tell them I am not one of them. Most of us are ordinary soldiers going through our mandatory military service. I feel so bad.”
