Morality police remain active, hijab laws continue in Iran

Ambiguous statements by Iran's attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, have raised false hopes as the country's protests enter their third month. Montazeri said the morality police - the force responsible for the death of Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini - had nothing to do with the judiciary, adding that it had been "abolished by those who created it". However, there has been no official confirmation from the Iranian authorities.

"Statements quoted in the press do not amount to a change of policy," writes Borzou Daragahi, a correspondent for The Independent, on Twitter. The Iranian-American journalist notes that the attorney general's statements "may suggest that the judiciary wants to disassociate itself" from the morality police. 

During his speech in the holy city of Qom, Montazeri stressed that the judiciary would continue to "supervise the behaviour of society". He also recalled that women's dress remained "very important", especially in Qom.

"The misuse of the hijab in the country, especially in the holy city of Qom, is one of the main concerns of the judiciary, as well as of our revolutionary society," said Montazeri, who also announced that "the parliament and the judiciary were working" on the issue of the compulsory veil, without giving further details. 

Following the attorney general's remarks, many Western media outlets began to talk about the abolition or end of the morality police, celebrating the move as a concession by the regime more than two months after the protests. However, analysts and Iranians stress that there is no official statement or evidence that the force will be dismantled.

"There is insufficient evidence at this time to indicate that the Iranian regime is removing its notorious morality police or backtracking on the issue of mandatory hijab," Shayan Sardarizadeh, a BBC journalist specialising in analysing disinformation, notes on his Twitter account. Sardarizadeh stresses that "all mandatory hijab laws are still in place and the authorities are enforcing them". 

Nilufar Saberi, an Iranian activist, told Atalayar. "We were told from Iran that the morality police unit had been disbanded, but not its functions". Saberi explains that its functions have been divided among the Basij militias and that "hostility against the population continues".

Even Iranian state media have denied the end of the force. "No Islamic Republic official has said that the morality police have been shut down," Al-Alam reported. "Some foreign media have tried to interpret these words of the attorney general as the Islamic Republic withdrawing the hijab and modesty, claiming it is due to the recent unrest," the Iranian TV channel added.

Masih Alinejad, a well-known Iranian journalist and activist, has also called on Western media not to fall "for the lies of the Islamic regime". "Why has there been no proper fact-checking," Alinejad asked on Twitter. 

For the activist, this is all "regime propaganda to calm the revolts". Alinejad recalled that "when dictatorships have problems, they spread propaganda". In this regard, she also added that in 2017 the regime claimed that the morality police would stop arresting women for issues related to the hijab. However, last September it arrested and killed Mahsa Amini for wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly.

Saberi agrees, calling the latest statements "a smokescreen" and a "whitewash" aimed at calming international public opinion and domestic protests. 

Many media outlets have also begun to talk about "victory", something that, according to Alinejad, is incorrect, as "Iranians are not only calling for an end to the morality police, they want to put an end to this regime". On the other hand, the activist acknowledges that Montazeri's statements "show the regime's fear", while his "empty promises" are "a sign of desperation". 

Iranians' demands go beyond the morality police and the obligation to wear the Islamic headscarf, something they have been stressing since the protests began. "We want a democratic and secular system of government. No matter what the Islamist authorities do, the Iranian people will not settle," says Saberi. "The only solution for the Iranian people is an end to the extremist Islamist government". 

The regime's attempts to calm the protests have not been successful. Protesters have called for a three-day strike this week to keep up the pressure on the authorities. Videos and images of closed shops in places such as the Tehran Bazaar and in other cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz have been circulating on social media.

President Ebrahim Raisi is also scheduled to visit Tehran University on Wednesday to mark Student's Day. Protesters have called for a march to Azadi Square in the capital, according to Reuters. 

Meanwhile, the number of people killed and arrested during the protests continues to rise. As reported by Iran Human Rights, 448 people - including 60 minors - have been killed since last September. Sistan and Baluchistan and Kurdistan remain the regions with the highest death toll.

However, the actual death toll is likely to be much higher. The authorities are executing protesters, including minors, whom they accuse of collaborating with 'enemy' countries. Recently, the regime has ordered the killing of four people accused of working for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.