Over Two Months After Protests Swept the Nation, Iran Disbands Morality Police – Iran – Haaretz
Regime critics reacted apprehensively to the announcement: 'The problem is not the morality police, but the headscarf requirement,' one Persian activist tweeted
Iran’s morality police, mainly responsible for enforcing the women’s dress code, has been disbanded, the attorney general announced on Sunday.
“The morality police has been dissolved, but the judicial authority will continue to deal with this social challenge,” the Shargh newspaper quoted Attorney General Mohammed Jafar Montazeri as saying.
No details were provided on the circumstances or implementation of the decision.
Regime critics reacted apprehensively to the announcement. The problem is not the morality police, but the headscarf requirement, one Persian activist tweeted. “Women must be able to move freely without headscarves,” he said, noting that this would be “only the first step.”
Observers say that while the dissolution of the morality police does not mean an end to the headscarf mandate, it does represent a significant step in the success of the women’s movement in Iran.
In another sign of growing alarm on the part of authorities in response to the protest movement, President Ebrahim Raisi met with ministers privately in the capital’s parliament, according to the ISNA news agency.
The report said the agenda of the meeting included the latest developments in the country, but gave no further information. While there was speculation that the meeting may cover the demands of demonstrators, observers did not have high expectations.
Nationwide dissident protests, triggered by an arrest by the morality police, have been going on for over two months.
A 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, was arrested in mid-September for violating the Islamic dress code. A few strands of hair were said to have fallen from under her headscarf, also known as a hijab. Amini died in police custody just days after her arrest, triggering protests throughout the country against the regime.
Human rights organizations estimate that since the outbreak of protests, 60 authorities and 410 protesters including 64 children have died. The official figures on this are contradictory. Iran’s security council claims 200 have died, while the revolutionary guard reports 300 dead.
Thousands have been arrested over the last two months as well, including students, journalists, athletes and artists. Some demonstrators have been sentenced to death.
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