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December 6, 2022

Anna Murray 

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran's Attorney General, announced on December 3 that the country's morality police had been disbanded and that the judicial system would continue to monitor people's behavior. However, in a short article published on December 4, the Arabic outlet of Iran's state media, Alalam News, denied the Attorney General's comment on the end of the morality police. 

According to the Attorney General's announcement on December 1, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and the Iranian parliament are now reviewing the hijab law, and the results will be made public in 15 days.

Under strict Islamic Republic law, women in Iran are currently required to cover their heads in public. Iran's so-called morality police have enforced the country's mandatory hijab rule. It is unclear, however, how the government's actions will affect the situation. The announcements do not imply that the Islamic Republic of Iran's requirement that women wear the hijab at all times will be lifted.

Following the unexpected death in police custody on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by morality police for allegedly failing to properly wear her hijab. Her death has sparked widespread outrage across the country. Long-standing resentment of poverty, unemployment, inequality, injustice, and corruption has also fueled the unrest.