iStock/Thinkstock(TEHRAN, Iran) — Tehran police announced Thursday they will no longer arrest women for failing to observe Islamic dress code. The dress code has been in place since the 1979 revolution.
“Those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centers, nor will judicial cases be filed against them.” Tehran police chief Gen. Hossein Rahimi was quoted as saying by the reformist daily Sharq.
Violators of the dress code will be made to attend classes given by police and repeat offenders could still be subject to legal action. The dress code still remains outside the capital.
women in Iran have been forced t cover their hair and wear long, loose garments for nearly 40 years. More liberal-minded woman have pushed the boundaries of the official dress code. Men can also be detained by Iran’s morality police if they are seen going shirtless or wearing shorts.
Iran’s morality police— similar to Saudi Arabia’s religious police— detain violators and escort them to a police van. Their families are then called to bring the detainee a change of clothes. The violator is then required to sign a form that they will not commit the offense again.
Police in Tehran announced plans to deploy 7,000 male and female officers for a new plainclothes division to monitor public morality and enforce the dress code, last year.
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