MEK Iran: Iranian women have been denied their rights for 40 years.

A pair of new initiatives will make it easier for the Iranian regime to enforce its misogynistic hijab regulations and will increase police presence in the city of Tehran.

New Hijab Crackdown

On Wednesday, June 10, Tehran Security Police chief Ali Zolghadri announced the nationwide rollout of a new program targeting women in vehicles. “When citizens receive a text message saying, ‘Vehicle owner! Hijab regulations were not abided in your vehicle,’ they should immediately refer to a police station; it doesn’t matter in what city they are in or in what city they have received the hijab violation text,” Zolghadri explained, according to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)-affiliated Fars news agency.

Women who are accused of improper veiling may be fined or have their vehicles impounded. The enforcement of hijab regulations is notoriously uneven. Poor women are punished harshly for even minor infractions, while those with connections to the high-level regime and IRGC officials are given more leeway under the religious dress code. Because of this disparity, women have little recourse to challenge an accusation of improper veiling.

Expanded Police Presence in Tehran

Regime officials in the capital city of Tehran are also planning to beef up their security presence, according to an article published Wednesday on the state-run Entekhab website. The website quoted Tehran Governor Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpei, who announced the measure. “80 new stations must be added to Tehran’s police centers and arrangements have been made for each district to allocate two areas for this initiative,” he said. “We in the governorate are seeking to provide special assistance to the police force. One such initiative is for Tehran’s police force to have state-of-the-art electronic cameras and equipment. Therefore, wherever the police say there is a need for electronic cameras, we will do so to our utmost capability,” he added.

Misplaced Priorities

The (PMOI / MEK Iran) has previously reported that more than 80 percent of Iranians live below the poverty line, and many have resorted to digging through public trash cans to find food. The problem has worsened since the coronavirus pandemic has devastated an already crippled economy. Hospitals lack basic supplies and equipment, and the regime’s health authorities complain that coronavirus test kits are too expensive to use on every sick patient.

Regime officials repeatedly claim that there is no money to provide for the Iranian people, but there is always money in the budget for cameras to spy on its citizens, bullets to fire on unarmed protesters, repressive forces to deploy against people asking for democratic change, and nuclear programs to threaten global stability. There is always money to fund militias to spread conflict in the region and prop up foreign dictators, to torture and imprison political dissidents, and to spread disinformation about the (PMOI / MEK Iran) and the Iranian Resistance. Yet when a natural disaster or a public health crisis strikes, the people are on their own, and non-governmental organizations are expelled from the country.

The Iranian regime treats its people as enemies who threaten its existence. No government that seeks to crush its people can survive once those people choose freedom over tyranny.

The (PMOI / MEK Iran) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) believe that the women of Iran deserve better. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, has a ten-point plan for the democratic future of Iran that includes gender equality. Iranian women have been denied their rights for 40 years. The time has come for women to take back their freedom. The (PMOI / MEK Iran) is proud to be part of that effort.