Abolition of moral police in Iran: “Regime falters: ongoing confrontation between the country’s rulers”

“The moral police have always had a repressive role in Iran: reducing their role would be a big win for the street protests, but at the moment there is no concrete evidence that we are moving in that direction other than the distance of the Tehran Republic’s Attorney General , Mohammad Jafar Montazeri”then to Fanpage.it the teacher Jose Acconciajournalist and professor of political sociology at the University of Padua, who explains what is happening in Iran after the news of the supposed abolition of moral policeor that body that has the function of enforcing the norms about clothes and costumes of the Islamic tradition in the country.

Iran’s moral police can be abolished: Are there early cracks in the regime?
At this stage of the protests, there is an ongoing clash between centers of power in Iran, and evidently this announcement by Tehran’s attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, is an example of this: he distanced himself from the moral police, it is true, but we are cautious because this does not mean that it will be dismantled, at the moment there is no confirmation in this regard also because its management belongs to the Ministry of the Interior. What seems clear is that there is a clash between the centers of power and that it is in full swing.

The moral police has always had a repressive function and was created precisely to check the clothing of Iranian women in particular and has been in operation since the days of Mahmud Ahmadinejad who was in power until 2013 and was a radical president. Reducing the role of the moral police would be a great victory for street protests, but at the moment there are no concrete signs that we are moving in that direction, other than this distancing from the Attorney General’s Office.

Attorney General Montazeri also spoke about the mandatory veil: are changes in this sense possible?
Montazeri spoke of the discussion on the mandatory veil to be held in the Iranian Parliament in 15 days: it is a very long time and that tells us that the Iranian authorities do not want to be reactive to the street demonstrations. But the fact that we talk about it is a first great victory for the street movement, and beyond: the images that arrive from Tehran and other cities show us women who no longer wear the headscarf as a result of the violence that led to the murder of Mahsa Amini and which triggered the protests that led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests in recent weeks.

Jose Acconcia

Another statement by Montazeri also goes in this direction, confirming the opinion already expressed by other reformist politicians that the hijab is not such an important aspect of religion, and saving society is more important than saving the headscarf, even within Iran’s institutions and political currents that are listening to the voices of reformers who have been marginalized over the years but have re-emerged after the protests. Faced with these declarations, it may be decided to confirm the mandatory use of the headscarf in public offices, but to loosen controls in the streets, even if at the moment there are no indications that point in this direction.

If there were less control over who wears the veil, and therefore what clothes, would the protests stop?
The answer is no. These are late responses and the cancellation of the mandatory veil does not respond to economic and social demands. Today is the first of a three-day strike by traders in the bazaars of major Iranian cities: there are economic data with galloping inflation going to 70% with many Iranians living below the poverty line with segments of the population earning less than 150 euros a month. There are issues related to the economic crisis that make us think that these first openings, which may even be just a facade, despite the fact that many women no longer wear the veil, the protest can continue.

iranian protesters

At the moment, the Iranian regime is experiencing a kind of military coup, in the sense that the response that came from the authorities after such widespread protests was to strengthen the military defense. Some figures from the past have been brought back to power and that means the military in Iran is stronger than ever. This has led to increasingly violent repression, with allegations of rape being used to discourage women from participating in protests, using snipers to shoot protesters in the eyes, and arresting prominent figures. There is a hardening on the part of the Iranian authorities, but on the other hand there is an extraordinary reaction that comes from the street movements because it is spreading enormously: Iranian students protest against the arrests of the last few weeks, actresses who act without a veil.

Could this be the start of a long-term change?
Certainly, if he reached a decision of greater tolerance regarding the use of the headscarf, it would be a first step for the movement, but it is still not enough to speak of effective change, so far the protests are so varied and the protesters themselves have more aspirations. general and wider. After the demands for more rights for women and after the social demands, come the demands for freedom and democracy and, therefore, for free elections, which are the central point for the demonstrators, but it is clearly the most difficult objective to achieve.

If there is openness and greater tolerance, this does not mean that the headscarf law will be changed, but if there is already greater tolerance from this point of view, the next step will be greater and more social and economic rights, and the next step will be democratic opening, and that it means moving more and more towards revolutionary phases that can change the country, but we are still in an initial phase at this time when institutions are trying to respond to street protests