Iran's veiling restrictions to be decided by popular polls

Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam

Head of Iranian security forces, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam announced that they will take a poll on the enforcement of hijab (Muslim dress code) in every province.

ISNA reports that Brigadier General Ahamdi Moghaddam has announced that the directive to enforce hijab (Muslim dress code) more restrictively is a provincial responsibility and must be based on popular surveys.

He added that enforcement of this directive is not the priority of the security forces and the provinces may also decide that it is not their priority either.

The recent wave of conservative backlash against laxer forms of wearing the veil was surprisingly condemned by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who two weeks ago announced that he does not support harsh confrontation of “bad veiling” offences by the security forces.

Islamic Republic hardliners who are customarily supportive of Ahmadinejad, criticized him for his statements on hijab and Ahmad Jannati announced that “no one should restrict the security forces in their fight against bad veiling.”

Tehran Governor, Morteza Tamaddon later said that the government does not intend to “detain” people for veiling violations but rather address the issue through cultural promotion and education.