It just wouldn't be summer without the "Modesty Guard" corps. By Dudi Cohen for Ynet News:
Iran has announced the launch of "Operation Cover-up" next week in attempt to control young men and women who have deviated from the country's Islamic dress codes and adopted "too Western" an appearance.
Deputy commander of the Iranian police force warned women that "the police will operate against women who dress like models in town. Women that are arrested will be taken to four centers, where they will receive guidance and advice. They will commit in writing not to dress in violation of the dress code again, and they will be released only after their families come to pick them up and bring them proper attire."
According to Iranian law, women must wear the hijab head covering, a veil to hide women's hair which constitutes a symbol of female modesty in Islam.
Each year the Iranian administration announces an "Operation Cover-up" ahead of summer, when the weather warms up and sleeves start getting shorter. The rest of the year, the "Modesty Guard", made up of a volunteer staff, patrols the streets and comments to women who do not maintain a sufficiently modest appearance.
In addition to the hijab, Iranian women are required to wear a long coat to conceal any trace of the outline of their figure.
Letting loose
In spite of the strict dress code, in recent years many women in Iran, especially in the larger cities, have been testing the limits and overlooking the laws, in particular regarding the head covering. Many women can be seen in Tehran's streets letting more and more hair out from under their head scarves and donning shorter, hip-length jackets and tight-fitting shirts.
The Islamic dress code also applies to non-Islamic women, as well as to tourists visiting Iran.
And not only women need be concerned, but men as well. The Tehran police commander announced that "the first phase of the operation, which starts on Saturday, will focus on women. The second phase will also deal with men who dress inappropriately."
Short pants, T-shirts with "harmful slogans" and chains with "certain ornamentation" are included in the list of forbidden male attire.
The goal of the operation, according to Tehran police, is to ensure "moral behavior in society."
The election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, 2005, raised expectations that the new administration would exhibit stricter determination in enforcing public dress codes.
Despite this, there have been no signs of a change of policy, and the government has noted on multiple occasions that it prefers to encourage the public to dress according to Islamic values in manners that avoid the use of force.
It would rather not use force, but clearly won't rule it out.
Oh God! How this saddening news brought back to me bad memories! When such periods of becoming more strict where announced we used to say in Iran: "The Mullah's dogs have caught rabies again and have been let loose to come and bite people!" This is a way of terrorizing people and reminding them who is the boss. This regime is just made up of a group of unelected thugs who have found a perfect outlet for their sadistic tendencies! I hope they will be thrown to the trashcan of history very soon!
They are afraid of women. They know they can only prevent change in Islam by keeping women in a state of fear. they know that muslim women are the greatest threat which the dictatorship of Islam faces. The women will ultimately rebel and either destroy or reform Islam.
The veil for Achmadinejad, now!
(Preferably with no breathing hole.)
Good article,
but it actually belongs in Jihad Watch, not Dhimmi Watch.
Who are the "dhimmis" here? It's radical Muslims telling Muslim women how to dress. I don't see any dhimmis anywhere in it.
Steven L., in a way you are right. maybe the article fits better in Jihad Watch section. But actually most of Iranian Muslim majority does feel like Dhimmis in its own country. Many are not Muslims anymore and they cannot show it because they will get killed, and many are very mild nominal Muslims who do nothing really Islamic in their entire life, but they don't take the extra step of denouncing Islam officially. They are oppressed just as much as any official Dhimmi is. The point about Dhimmitude is not whether the victim necessarily is non-Muslim or not, but it is the way political and radical Islam as the "owner" of Islamic state subjugates and oppressed the people under its rule. The fact that many many Muslim citizens of these Islamic countries are also victims of Dhimmitude is an overlooked fact. They have to pay taxes to an unelected government who does not represent them and spends this tax money not for their welfare, but for Jihadist activities around the world and will not tolerate any decent! Did you know that many many brave and outspoken journalists and bloggers are rotting in the prisons of the so-called "Islamic Republic" of Iran just as I am typing these words? They are also oppressed in the name of Islam. Because once you don't show 100% allegiance to the Islamic state then you are not Muslim enough for them and they treat you worst than they would treat any Kafir! Those women who will be told how to dress in the streets of Iran as the result of this “Operations Cover-Up” don't want to dress in 7th century Arab costume. They are forced to do so. So maybe considering all of this the article could fit Dhimmi Watch as well. Don’t you think?
Steven L--
Occasionally, it's a tough call on whether an article should be posted on Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch. But I think this one fits in Dhimmi Watch for a couple of reasons:
- Most items about Sharia law-- especially aspects of the law that are particularly cruel or silly by Western standards-- go on Dhimmi Watch. Stories here fit under the broader umbrella of the many categories of second-class citizenship that Islamic law imposes, by which, as RitaMalik described very well above, "most of Iranian Muslim majority does feel like Dhimmis in its own country."
- Also, this article does mention the fact that this set of rules applies to non-Muslims, and visitors from foreign countries. And, there's that curious bit about "chains with 'certain ornamenation.'" That could be many things, including crosses, or anything else the Modesty Police decide is too Western, Christian, or otherwise un-Islamic.
Hope that sheds some light on where certain stories are posted.
Does this mean that the Highland Games won't be held in Iran this year?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtf7pcq1p_Q
One moslem woman thinks her face is part of her identity.
Another woman with "cojones"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFrlQPvBmC0&NR=1
interestinconundrum-
Thanks for the MEMRI link.
That lady Buthayna Nasser (Saudi woman tv reporter) kicks ass!
May her Kevlar be as strong as her logic.
(These intelligent women should bail from the pedophile cult before it kills them!)
this makes you wonder how they would react to a Highland man in full Highland dress would they demand he cover up with a hijab or with the sight of all hairy legs drive them insane with the lust after all it seems like the highest proportion of homosexuals is in the Arab world
Check out this photo of a policeman laying down the law in Teheran.
What caught my eye was the way the fellows in the background are dressed. Gotta keep in mind it's an oven over there right now. So the guys are going around in open collar shirts. Some are even showing off a bit of chest hair. At least the cop has the decency to wear a trenchcoat, but even from behind you can see his neck collar flapped open -- because, man, it's a sauna out there. Most have shaved off their sharia beards, which can keep the heat in.
Physiologists tell us that the head is a natural radiator whose job is to moderate our temperature in extreme heat. As we all know, exposing the neck to air is one of the best ways of protecting the vital organs when heat stroke threatens. These ladies have neither defense. The one looks a bit hot-headed, and I'll take that literally -- it's no wonder!
Incidentally, I'll vote for this item's appropriateness DhimmiWatch. The dress laws are applied across the board in Iran, and the Christians there are hard-pressed under the iron rod of Sharia, and are not excused from these crackdowns. I don't know about jizya, but one shouldn't split hairs, it makes little difference.
I recently looked at pictures of a scientific meeting in Teheran with female, non-muslim scientists from the west, known for their independence and assertiveness. All in headscarfs wrapped around their heads and necks -- indoors. One photo of a prominent female scientist practically mummified while she spoke in a small lecture hall, hovering over the hot overhead projector and obviously not very comfortable.
DhimmiWatch indeed.