Iran Cracks Down On Women's Dress Code

Police Arrest Nearly 300 Women Accused Of Not Covering Up Enough

(AP)  With the arrival of spring, Iranian police have launched a crackdown against women accused of not covering up enough, arresting nearly 300 women, some for wearing too tight an overcoat or letting too much hair peek out from under their veil, authorities said Monday.

The campaign in the streets of major cities was the toughest such crackdown in nearly two decades, raising fears that hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intends to re-impose the tough Islamic Revolution-era constraints on women's dress that loosened in past years.

The move highlighted the new boldness among hard-liners in Ahmadinejad's government, which has used mounting Western pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program and Iraq as a pretext to put down internal dissent.

But it could bring a backlash at a time when many Iranians resent Ahmadinejad for failing to boost the faltering economy or halt spiraling prices and blame him for isolating Iran with his fiery rhetoric. The two-day-old crackdown was already angering moderates.

"What they do is really insulting. You simply can't tell people what to wear. They don't understand that use of force only brings hatred toward them, not love," said Elham Mohammadi, a 23-year-old female student.

Her hair was hardly hidden by her white-and-orange headscarf — an infraction that could bring police attention. Police could be seen Monday stopping and giving warnings to other women who were showing too much hair or even wearing too colorful a headscarf.

Looser dress codes are one of the few surviving gains from the era of Ahmadinejad's predecessor, reformist President Mohammad Khatami, who was in power from 1997 to 2005.

During that time, many women, particularly in cities, shed the dress code imposed after the 1979 revolution — veils completely covering the hair and heavy coats or the black or gray head-to-toe chador hiding the shape of the body.

Now it is common to see women in loose headscarves — some as narrow as a ribbon — that show much of their hair and short, colorful, form-fitting jackets that stop at the knee — or even higher — showing jeans underneath. Even under Ahmadinejad in the past two years, women can be seen in pants that leave the bottom of their calves bare.

Any of those styles could bring warnings or detention from the anti-vice police in the current sweep, which began Saturday.

Anti-vice police — many of them women — have been stopping women in the streets of the capital and other cities if they deem their dress is "un-Islamic."

[michellem99-2009]

I met an American woman here in the US of A who was covered head to toe. Only her eyes were seem.She had a pretty voice. I met wemen who wear the veil. It is not my place to tell her how to dress her body. The lady in the pic,her head covered so some hair is shown. A pretty coloured veil. This is 07. It is sad she can't wear clothes becomimig to her.

[tbweb]

History is famous for repeating itself! Just like an Iranian Revolution got rid of Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a similar Iranian Revolution can get rid of the Mullah's and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and hopefully get rid of it's nuclear program with them. There is no fury like women scorned! Iran better let them ladies dress the way they please. Iranian women and Arab women as well see how modern women in "FREE" nations are living and advancing and this relic of a distant past won't stand for forever! Religious rule "only" is very dangerous!

[aisat2666]

Naked, just what is wrong with naked? All the rebellious belief they profess to have, maybe they should slack off a little and be a little more religious and have faith. Yes, naked is the way to go maybe Ahab won%u2019t be so quick to shoot. The ladies were brought into this world without clothing, the closest thing to pure religion than most anything. Naked, our troops would be home in a matter of days. God gave us free will.

[zootallures2]

IRGC: Propaganda and Psychological War waged by US is Doomed to Failure

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard's Corps, IRGC, has stressed that the political propaganda and psychological war waged by the United States against the Iranian people is doomed to fail.

[kansas1946]

There you go. A country run by religious zealots, making laws based on their radical beliefs, forcing others to follow those radical religious beliefs, and couching their behaviour with the "This country was founded on Islamic principles," so we should be able to force everyone to adhere to them, like it or not.
Gosh, that sounds really familiar. I wonder where I've heard that.

[pwrslm]

God gave us free will.

Islam wants to take it away.

Doesnt anyone realize that this stuff is orthodox Islam...right up the center, directly from the Koran.

Freedom of religion only exists under islam if your a muslim.

[billpl-2009]

public dress codes? prayer in public school?

...what's the difference?

[questionnews]

You can take your guns with you on the way out. P.S. Take Bush with you PLEASE!!!!
Posted by spoly13 at 05:58 PM : Apr 24, 2007

The reason the majority of office holding liberals are not on the "anti-gun" bandwagon is because based on several polls, gun owning liberals are almost on par with gun owning conservatives. And besides, the topic is the freedom of women dress as they wish. Even when Bush is gone, Iran will still continue to pursue mid-evil draconian rules for society that keep women from rising beyond the status as property.

[spoly13]

The conservatives in this country should move to Iran since they love to quote scripture. They will feel right at home in that conservative, religious environment and won't have liberals to blame for their misery. You can take your guns with you on the way out. P.S. Take Bush with you PLEASE!!!!

[sclaires]

Boy, am I glad I don't live in Iran or anywhere else where I would have to cover up completey. I just wonder what the men are afraid of that they go to such extremees as to make a woman hide her beauty. Maybe they were abused by their mothers and this is their way of getting back at them.

[hawksprings]

Why isn't there a comment from Hillary or the NOW girls or Gloria Steinam about this outrageous treatment of women??

Why aren't they organizing protests and burning scarves in front of the Iranian embassy???

...

[infidel_us]

Wow.....sounds like they feel the same way about Ahmadinejad as libs feel about Bush. :)