Tehran: Countries including the United States have expressed disbelief at reports that the Iranian government has disbanded the Hijab Monitoring Police.
In Iran, hijab is compulsory for girls as young as 9 years old to the elderly. A special police unit called ‘Kast Ershad’ patrols public places to monitor the way women dress. On September 13, a young woman named Masha Amini (22) from Sahis city, Kurdistan province of Iran, went with her family to visit a relative in the capital, Tehran. At that time, the special force police intercepted Masha and accused her of not wearing hijab properly.
Also, they arrested him and took him away in a van. He was brutally assaulted in police custody and suffered severe head injuries and went into a coma. Masha Amini passed away on September 16. Masha’s death has now sparked protests in Iran. More than 200 people were killed in this struggle
In this situation, the government of Iran has announced that it has dissolved the Hijab Monitoring Police Unit in order to control the protest. However, the social activists of the country and the United States and European countries say that they do not believe in this.
The US State Department said, “We have not seen any change in the Iranian government’s attitude towards women and girls. “Violence is being unleashed on protesters.”
The German Foreign Ministry said, “The people of Iran want to live in freedom and self-determination. If you have disbanded the moral police department, do not bring change in it again.
“Unless laws restricting women’s clothing and citizens’ private lives are removed, Iran’s latest move is a publicity stunt,” according to US-based human rights groups.