The Iranian regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has ordered his thugs to further increase pressure on Iranian women, as the country faces an uprising.
On March 29, Khamenei claimed that the “enemy has engaged in these developments on certain agendas, and we should have our own agendas as well,” and since the beginning of the New Persian Year of 1402, he has tasked his forces with parallel oppressive measures.
On April 7, Yahya Elahi, head of Lorestan Province’s State Security Force, announced Khamenei’s “plan” for so-called “combatting” those not abiding by the mandatory hijab law. The directive has four parts, and the first part concerns “improper veiling in the car.” At least 3,000 enforcers have been trained and are now on duty, and an application will be installed on the enforcers’ phones, allowing them to send a warning text message to women who are not wearing their hijab. The text message will be kept as a criminal record, and police forces will impound the individual’s car “without delay or mercy.”
The second part concerns enforcers’ role in public places, such as restaurants and coffee shops. Enforcers will warn and brief all public places owners to prevent any improperly veiled women from entering their establishments. The third section of the directive is about public resorts, such as streets and parks.
Khamenei’s reinforcement of his misogynist orders against women has several objectives. First, it attempts to intimidate women who play a leading role in the nationwide uprising. Second, the clerical regime aims to detract the uprising from its main cause of regime change by trying to posture that the Iranian people’s demands are limited to some basic rights. Third, by trying to portray the current struggle in Iran as a fight between “Islam” and “apostates,” Khamenei can better rally his demoralized forces and boost their morale.
CCTV cameras have been installed, and those violating the hijab law will be prosecuted using face-recognition technology. The fourth part boasts an “extensive operation by the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence, both online and in public places.”
The regime’s misogynous actions further lay bare the system’s weakness. If the authorities’ “strength” and “popularity” rhetoric is real, why would they use military force to impose the mandatory veiling? The possibility that Khamenei’s plan backfires has caused much stir in the regime, and the state-run Khabar online website warned of social turmoil in the form of a riot.
Iranian opposition President-elect Maryam Rajavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stated, “Khamenei, the mullahs’ bloodthirsty supreme leader, has crossed a new threshold of cruelty and demagoguery in his desperate attempt to stifle dissent and prevent Iran protests. However, his efforts will be in vain, for Iranian women, girls, and youth have vowed to rise up against this brutal regime and overthrow it.”
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