Iran’s new president has said morality police will no longer “harass” women for wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf, days after the UN warned women were still being punished violently for breaking strict dress codes.
Masoud Pezeshkian’s comments came on the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab properly, sparking protests across the country.
The UN last week said the Iranian government had “stepped up efforts” since then to crack down on women’s rights and eliminate all traces of activism.
But on Monday, Pezeshkian said morality police should no longer confront women on the street.
Pezeshkian, who became president after his predecessor died in a helicopter crash, is seen as a potentially revolutionary leader.
He was answering questions from a female reporter who said she had detoured from the press conference to avoid police vans. She was wearing a headscarf loosely showing her hair.
When Pezeshkian was asked if the police were still on the streets, he confirmed that they were.
In response he said: “The moral police should not have confronted each other [women]. I will follow up so they don’t have to worry [them]”.
His comments were broadcast live on the state’s major TV networks, including the emerging news channel IRINN. A clip of the interview with the female reporter has since gone viral.
It was Pezeshkian’s first press conference since taking office in July, replacing the conservative Ebrahim Raisi.
During his election campaign he promised to oppose police patrols that enforce the hijab scarf. He also asserted that he will relax some of the internet control programs that have been in place for a long time in this country.
Iran has stepped up surveillance of social media following protests led by women across the country against the 2022 inauguration.
Signs that women may be more comfortable with the country’s strict dress code for women were present at Pezeshkian’s press conference on Monday, where some female journalists wore looser tops.
This was a significant departure from previous official events where female journalists were required to wear the full hijab, BBC Monitoring reported.
But a recent UN fact-finding mission in the country says women “are still living in a system that relegates them to second-class citizens”.
In its report released last week, the UN said: “State authorities have increased repressive measures and policies to further deprive women and girls of their basic rights.”
It noted that the government has “increased surveillance of the observance of the hijab” in public and private spaces while also allowing increased violence in punishing women and girls who break the rules.
“Security forces have also escalated pre-existing patterns of physical violence, including beating, kicking, and hitting women and girls who appear to be failing to comply with hijab rules and regulations,” the UN said.
It said the authorities have been increasingly calling for the death penalty to be used against women’s activists and “increased” the killing of those who expressed solidarity with the 2022 protests known as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
The UN mission also noted that the “Hijab and Chastity” bill is in the final stages of approval before Iran’s Security Council and could be finalized soon.
“The bill provides severe penalties for women who do not wear the mandatory hijab, including heavy fines, long prison terms, restrictions on work and educational opportunities, and travel bans,” the UN investigators said.
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