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Iranwire – The manager and another employee of a bank have been arrested in Tehran province for allegedly failing to enforce mandatory headscarf laws on a client, amid an intensifying clampdown on violations of the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
According to Morteza Tahmasbi, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of the city of Damavand, the two arrested “ignored” the compulsory hijab requirement and offered services to a woman who did not wear a head covering.
If a woman without a hijab “disregards the initial warning and continues to violate the regulation, the police should be immediately notified,” Tahmasbi said. “In such cases, the police are obligated to respond promptly and document the incident on-site.”
In an act of defiance against the ideology and laws of the Islamic Republic, a growing number of women are appearing in public without hijab since nationwide protests erupted in September last year.
Some defiant women were arrested, summoned by the authorities and faced legal cases, while hundreds of small businesses and shopping malls were shut down for purportedly failing to enforce hijab rules on their customers.
Taxi drivers have been fined for transporting women without headscarves, while police and volunteers have issued warnings in subways, airports and other public places.
Earlier this month, Morality Police patrols returned to the streets of Iranian cities to enforce compulsory veiling. Videos shared on social media show women being violently assaulted by officials in Tehran and other cities.
In one incident, security forces fired teargas to disperse residents of the northern city of Rasht who protested an attempt to arrest women accused of violating the hijab requirement.
