Iranian media and politicians have been engaged in heated debate this week regarding the return of the morality or hijab police to the streets of Iran.
Many pointed out that it was the morality police who arrested Mahsa Amini and caused her fatal injuries in September 2022, leading to the largest and longest nationwide protests.
According to Rouydad24, a more reputable website among government-controlled media, the extent to which the renewed debate is a genuine discussion remains uncertain. Some believe it is part of the Islamic Republic's usual "bad cop, good cop" tactic to show that what many view as a bad idea has supporters. What is clear, is that no one in the regime is prepared to assume responsibility for the return of the menace hijab enforcement poses for both citizens and officials.
The website saw the development as one of the outcomes of hardliners having grabbed all power and the emergence of an all-conservative establishment in Iran. It argued that the morality police are going to remain in the streets regardless of the debate in the media and among politicians.
The project, however, could just as well be some sort of preparation ahead of the anniversary of the protests in September and a move to intimidate women as the driving force of dissent and social movements in Iran.
Some media outlets attributed the return of the morality police to a 10-day sit-in by vigilante groups outside Judiciary's headquarters in Tehran demanding hijab enforcement.
Lawmaker Ahmad Alirezabeigi, however, told Khabar Online website in Tehran that Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has initiated the move to overshadow and possibly avert the parliament's motion to impeach him.
The outspoken lawmaker also said hijab is not among the priorities of Iranians while they are struggling with a thousand economic problems. In the meantime, social media users and foreign-based media including Iran International TV have broadcast video clips that show confrontations between women and government hijab enforcers.
Meanwhile, Moeineddin Saeedi another lawmaker said in response to hardliners who claimed "hijabless women shake God's heavens by showing their hair," that "God's heavens will shake harder by the actions of those who embezzle tens of trillions of rials."
While some conservatives, including the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have said that the new measures to uphold hijab, including the returning of the morality police, are not based on existing laws and new legislation is needed, some hardline clerics and officials such as Deputy Police Chief Qasem Rezaei are adamant that the morality police are going to remain in the streets forever.
Etemad Online quoted Rezaei as saying: "Hijab is our red line. The morality police is not for just a certain juncture. Protecting values and families is necessary under any circumstances."
Rouydad24 quoted the editor of Hardline Daily Kayhan Hossein Shariatmadari as saying that current punishments for women who defy compulsory hijab are not hard enough as they can pay a fine and get away with it.
In the meantime, President Ebrahim Raisi's reaction has been cautious. He said law enforcers should take measures within the scope of current laws, which effectively means he does not wish to interfere in a sensitive matter in an election year when he needs everybody's support to send whoever he wants to parliament next March.
The so-called morality or hijab police park their vans in the streets and stop women who have “insufficient” hijab, sometimes shoving them into their vans and putting them under arrest. That was exactly the reason why Mahsa Amini was taken into a van and later murdered at a police station in September 2022. If this happens again, no one will know who the culprit is.