Mahsa Amini's Justice Served?
A big Relief : The feared morality police, the same group that was in charge when Mahsa Amini, 22, died in their custody in September, were dismissed, according to Iran’s public prosecutor on Sunday.
The Interior Ministry did not confirm the announcement, and state media reported that the public prosecutor was not in charge of supervising the force.
If the announcement is implemented, it would represent an extraordinary concession from the Iranian regime to the women who have over the past few months led the most significant and persistent street protests since the Islamic Revolution of 1978–1979
The morality police “was abolished by the same authorities who installed it,” Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said. “Both parliament and the judiciary are working [on the issue],” he said as part of the statement.
Morality officers
Although the elected government has some control over the Gasht-e Ershad’s operations through the Interior Ministry, they are a police force under the direction of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Officials from the morality police are both male and female.
Mahsa Amini was reportedly assaulted by the morality police after they had taken her into custody for “incorrectly” donning the required headscarf. Amini was not attacked, according to the Iranian authorities, which also claimed that Israel and the United States were behind the nationwide demonstrations.
The protests have grown in recent weeks, moving beyond resentment over the hijab rule to include a broader criticism of state politicians who are perceived to be upholding these rules.
The contested hijab
Hijab enforcement in Iran has a lengthy history. In an effort to “modernise” the nation, the hijab was in fact outlawed in 1936 under Reza Shah Pahlavi’s rule. When women wearing hijabs were spotted in public, the police would take them off.
This scenario was reversed following the Revolution, when conservative forces supporting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew Reza Shah’s son Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and established the Islamic Republic.
Also Read : Asia’s biggest slum for makeover by the Asia’s richest man
The hijab was declared mandatory, but it wasn’t until the 1990s, when the dictatorship felt the need to consolidate its control following the outbreak of war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, that a force was established to police morals and women’s public appearance.
Over the years, the strictness with which the morality rules have been enforced has varied in accordance with the nature of the regime in the country’s dual theocratic-democratic political system. Liberal leaders such as former President Hasan Rouhani have made references to personal freedoms and dignity following reported excesses by the force.
