Hussein Jalali, a member of the Iranian parliament and a member of the Islamic Council for Culture, said that in the next two weeks, the authorities will force Iranian women to wear hijabs again – and this will not be achieved by the vice police.
He suggested that the authorities collect data on the participants in opposition demonstrations, and then send them a written warning. If after that they do not hide their hair under headscarves, their bank accounts will be blocked.
Jalali’s statement was further evidence that after the authorities’ signals about the possibility of softening the rules for wearing hijabs and the possible abolition of the morality police, Iranian conservatives launched a counterattack.
Thus, the head of the department for promoting piety and combating sin in the province of Isfahan (this is the official title of the chief of the vice police), Mohsen Mozaheri, stated the need to comply with laws, especially those of divine origin. “Otherwise there will be anarchy,” he says.
“Islamic laws allow people to enjoy the good things in life and protect them from the bad things. They ensure that the religious character of the Islamic Republic is preserved,” he says, noting that laws in the West are also meant to preserve order.