Teheran (AsiaNews) - In Iran, winter has passed and with the arrival of spring the campaign of repression of women “insufficiently veiled” or dressed in an “immoral” fashion, returns.  Police Chief, Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam, reported Wednesday that in the last year, more than one million women were stopped relating to the way the wear they hijab (Islamic veil) 10 thousand charged for violating the “Islamic” dress code.  The victims of these repressive laws are women, the restrictive codes also forbid men to wear short trousers, but no law forces them to wear the traditional male dress (only ties are tabù).  

The number of “offences” shows that after eight years of Khatami’s presidency, some laws have become unchangeable.  Even if the chador is more widely used, young Iranian women continue to play with the rules.  The regime tries to counter this, by employing creative incentives (Islamic fashion shows, low cost “modest” clothing, etc..) but it also continues to use repression. 

The 2007 campaign will be as follows: if denounced by neighbours or stopped in the streets by military police or bassij militants, the woman in question will be brought to one of the four purpose-built detention centres in Teheran.  There, she will be forced to sign a document promising not to violate the laws in future and will only be released after members of her family bring her “suitable” clothing.  It remains a fact that the regime often attempts to divide, humiliate and promote conspiracy within family life: a policeman asks a father “Why do you allow your daughter to dress like a p…”? and the school teacher asks the child “Tell me, does your father say his prayers, drink alcohol….?”.

The Police Chief also announced that this year men will be arrested on the spot for wearing T-shirts which brandish “aggressive” slogans or chains with “some symbols” – the cross the Star of David? No one knows, perhaps it religious symbols pertaining to Iran’s “legal” religions will still be allowed. Ambiguity and censorship have always been linked to totalitarianism…..

There are some voices of criticism against these measures, even within the Iranian Parliament.  The police do not directly call on religious arguments, but affirms that it is their responsibility to guarantee the “moral security” in society.  A woman whose hair is visible, who wear too much make-up or is under- dressed “creates insecurity in public spaces” and according to Ahmadi-Moqaddam, adds to “the enemy’s cultural invasion, which threatens national security”.