Iran Deploys “Smart” Technology to Track and Punish Islamic Dress Code Violators

Iran has started using facial recognition and other “smart” technologies to crack down on women violating the regime’s Sharia-mandated dress code.

The Iranian police warned on Saturday that surveillance technology was in place “from today” to apprehend hijab law violators. They warned that “technology will be used for the smart identification of people who break the [hijab] law.”

The police also threatened to shut down businesses that allowed women to remove their headscarves and to impound vehicles if passengers are found in violation of the Islamic dress code.

The dystopian Big Brother-style surveillance of women has been rolled out after months of anti-regime protests which were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for violating the hijab law. At last 500 protesters were killed and over 18,000 were arrested for participating in anti-regime unrest. Several demonstrators were publicly hanged from cranes to instill terror among the people.

The French news agency AFP reported:

Police in Iran said on Saturday they have implemented a plan to deal with women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code.A statement on the police website on Saturday said action would be taken “from today” over violations in public places, in cars and other “sites where hijab is sometimes removed”.”In this context, technology will be used for the smart identification of people who break the law,” it said.”Removing hijab is considered a crime, and the police deal with social anomalies within the framework of the law,” the statement quoted Security Police chief Hassan Mofakhami as saying.”People who break the law are responsible for their actions and should be held accountable for their behaviour,” he added. (…)Mofakhami also warned that businesses whose employees removed their headscarves in the workplace faced closure.He said in such cases a warning would be issued, but “if the warning is repeated, the closure of the business will be on the agenda”.Last week, police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said those who remove their headscarves would be identified using “smart equipment”.”People who remove their hijab in public places will be warned first and presented to the courts as a next step,” he said.Car owners would also receive a warning text if any passengers violated the dress code, and their vehicles would be seized if the offence was repeated.

The move is part of a campaign by the Iranian regime to ensure Hijab-compliance in the wake of nationwide protests. “Iranian authorities launched a fresh campaign to force women to wear a headscarf, or hijab, as the clerical establishment seeks to reassert its grip on power months after women’s rights protests morphed into a nationwide movement against the Islamic Republic,” The Wall Street Journal noted Sunday.

Meanwhile there are reports of fresh anti-hijab protests from Tehran and other Iranian cities:

The Mullah regime is determined to crush the resurgence of the anti-hijab movement. Earlier this month, Iran’s judiciary chief threatened to punish women “without mercy” who defying the Hijab Law. “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [Islamic] values,” Iran top Sharia-enforcer, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei warned. “Those who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and will be prosecuted without mercy.”

Tags: Iran

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