Iran uses spy cameras to catch hijab refuseniks

Iran has begun a nationwide CCTV surveillance operation to catch women refusing to wear the compulsory Islamic head covering in the wake of a nationwide uprising.

A women stages a protest as thousands last October make their way towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini's home town. Picture: AFP

Iran has begun a nationwide CCTV surveillance operation to catch women refusing to wear the compulsory Islamic head covering in the wake of a nationwide uprising.

Since unrest began in September following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in the custody of the Iranian morality police, women across the country have defied the regime in a mass rebellion.

Women can now be seen in public places without the headscarf, in addition to innumerable others burning them in public, rejecting the strict dress code imposed in the Islamic Republic. Islamic teaching says men and women must dress modestly. Most Islamic scholars argue that women should cover their hair; the issue is the degree of compulsion.

From Sunday, footage of women without the hijab will be sent directly to police. After an initial warning, women risk being summoned to court proceedings and will face fines the equivalent of more than $90,000.

Saturday’s police statement claimed the new “smart cameras” were there “to prevent tension and conflict with fellow citizens in establishing the hijab law”, beefing up the country’s vast AI and facial recognition network to suppress dissent. Cameras for traffic violations will be used to locate offenders, according the chief of Tehran’s traffic police, with vehicles impounded after the initial warning.

As the regime continues to press the religious importance of the Islamic head covering, members of the public have been emboldened to take the law into their own hands, seen just last week when an uncovered mother and daughter were ambushed and had yogurt poured over them while shopping.

Just last week, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reiterated the “haram”, or forbidden nature, of rejecting the modest dress with the chief justice. He claimed anyone caught defying the rules would be treated “without mercy”.

According to the US-based rights group Human Rights Activists of Iran, since mid-March Iranian state apparatus has closed at least 458 businesses, including recreation centres, restaurants, hotels and two shopping malls, for allegedly failing to observe compulsory hijab laws in the workplace. HRANA said: “These actions are flagrant examples of the infringement on personal freedom and an illegal attack on citizens’ economic wellbeing.”

The laws, in place since the revolution of 1979 turned the country into a theocratic dictatorship, have been at the centre of Iran’s biggest national uprising since the republic took hold.

Women have been at the forefront of the movement, dubbed Woman, Life, Freedom.

Since September, more than 500 people have been killed in clashes with Iran’s security forces, according to HRANA, and around 20,000 people have been arrested. In one month alone, four protesters were executed.

An additional 14 Iranians are believed to be awaiting the death sentence, though the true number could be higher. Verifying numbers is difficult under the secretive regime, with the internet cut regularly since the protests began and apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram banned.

The Times