Iranian police resort to 'smart' tech to identify and penalise women not wearing hijab

Police in Iran said they will identify women who remove their hijab by using smart equipment. They will be warned first and then presented to the courts if the offence is repeated.

Police in Iran said they will send "proof and warning messages to the violators of the hijab law" to tell them about the legal consequences of flouting the law. Source: AFP / Atta Kenare

Key Points

• Police in Iran will use "smart cameras" to catch women who violate the hijab law.
• Warning messages and legal actions will be in store for the violators.
• Iran has seen a wave of protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini for allegedly flouting the law.

Iranian police said they plan to use "smart" technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country's strict Islamic dress code.

A statement said the force would "take action to identify norm-breaking people by using tools and smart cameras in public places and thoroughfares".

Police will then send "the proof and warning messages to the violators of the hijab law" to "inform them about the legal consequences of repeating this crime".

The number of women in Iran defying the compulsory dress code has increased since a wave of protests following the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly flouting it.

Ms Amini died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police. A wave of civil protests swept across the Islamic Republic following her death.

Anti-government protests that erupted since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 have been met by the Iranian government with arrests and executions. Source: EPA / Abedin Taherkenareh

"From next Saturday, people who remove their veil will be identified using smart equipment," Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said in an interview with state television.

"People who remove their hijab in public places will be warned first and presented to the courts as a next step," Mr Radan said.

He said car owners would also receive a warning text if any of their passengers violate the dress code, and their vehicles will be seized if the offence is repeated.

In a separate statement on Saturday, police said they would not tolerate "any individual or collective behaviour and actions that are contrary to the law".

Last week, a viral video on social media showed a man throwing yoghurt at two women for not wearing hijab.

In late March, the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said "removing hijab amounts to enmity towards values and people who commit such abnormality will be punished".

The requirement for women to wear the headscarf in public was enshrined in law shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.