Women must wear headscarves even in cars, Iranian police resume warnings

Iranian police resumed warning women over headscarves, reportedly saying that they must wear them even when they are inside a car, local media reported on Monday (January 3).

This comes as nationwide protests continue to happen over the death of Mahsa Amini, who allegedly died on September 16 last year in the custody of the morality police. The 22-year-old was said to be detained by Iranian authorities for not wearing her hijab properly.

There is a strict Iranian policy for women, which requires the to dress modestly and wear headscarves in public places. However, in the ongoing protests, women and girls have taken a centre stage, with a majority of them waving or burning their headscarves.

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A senior police officer was quoted as saying in the Fars news agency that the "new stage" of the Nazer-1 programme—"surveillance" in Persian—was being rolled out "across the country by the police".

Fars added that the so-called Nazer programme, launched in 2020, concerns the "removal of the hijab in cars".

Car owners received text messages over flouting the dress code rules when the programme was launched in 2020. In case of any violation is repeated, they got a warning of "legal" action.

Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media.

According to messages posted on social media platforms, the police have seemingly dropped the threat of legal action.

A message reportedly sent by police and posted on social media read, "The removal of hijab has been observed in your vehicle: It is necessary to respect the norms of the society and make sure this action is not repeated."

(With inputs from agencies)

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