Iran says no entry for hijab-less women in Tehran Metro
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New Delhi: Iran has decided to set up hijab enforcement groups on Tehran Metro so that women not wearing the headwear would be refused entry into the transit lines, IANS reported.
The fresh move is the fresh one in a pattern of regulations implemented by Tehran to enforce hijab on women.
Many Iranian women, especially in urban centres, have refused to comply with the hijab rule, in a sign that the "women, life, freedom" protests that began in September last year continue in a more individualised form, Th Guardian reported.
Recently, the administration has announced the installation of cameras in public to monitor and penalise women who are not wearing head scarf. It also plans to empower the public to confront women without hijabs in public.
In girls' secondary schools in Tehran, Karaj and other cities, incidents of poison attacks continue to be reported. At least nine schools were reported to have been attacked on Sunday. According to Iranian MP Mohammad Hassan Asefari, a government fact-finding committee said the security agencies had been unable to identify the perpetrators, while the Ministry of Health is yet to determine the nature of the poison being used.
The contrast between the urgency of the efforts to enforce the hijab and the inability of the investigators to use CCTV to identify those behind the poison attacks has infuriated opponents of the government.
The Tehran Metro Company had already announced that "in line with the demands of the noble people of Iran on the issue of hijab", it was launching a verbal reminder project in Tehran and suburban Metro stations. But the latest pictures on Iran state TV show Metro staff barring women trying to pass through the ticket barrier without a hijab, The Guardian reported.
Masoud Darshti, the Chief Executive of Tehran and Suburbs Metro Operation Company, had announced the establishment of a chastity and hijab headquarters to issue reminders. He said his staff would be required to implement any police order but added that he had not yet personally received the instruction formally, IANS reported.