Iran installs cameras to penalise unveiled women and ‘prevent resistance against hijab law’

Violators will receive warning text messages as to the consequences, police say

Iran’s authorities are installing cameras in public places to identify women defying the country’s compulsory dress code.

On Saturday, local police said cameras will be installed in public places to penalise women not wearing veils.

The violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, said the police statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law”, it said.

Ever since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police last September, scores of women around the country have ditched the hijab.

The backlash against Amini’s custodial death sparked widespread protests. Accounts have since emerged over how women protesters have been treated by the Iranian administration, sparking anger and calls for repealing the controversial hijab law.

Iran’s official law dictates that women and girls as young as seven must wear a hijab, placing approximately 40 million under constant surveillance since its introduction after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Earlier this month, footage of a man attacking two women in Iran with yoghurt – apparently for not covering their hair in public – went viral.

In the video, the two women are approached by the man in a shop. After talking to them briefly, he takes a tub of yoghurt from a nearby shelf and throws it over their heads in anger.

The two women were arrested, with the Iranian judiciary confirming that they were detained for failing to cover their hair in public. The man was also arrested for disturbing public order.

In January, an Iranian chess player took part in an international tournament without a hijab, becoming the latest of several Iranian sportswomen to appear for competitions without a head covering since the anti-government protests in Iran.

In November 2022, Iranian officials had arrested two prominent actors, Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, for removing their headscarves and publicly supporting anti-government protests.