Hossein Alaei’s Warning About Police Involvement in the Hijab Issue

Hossein Alaei’s Warning Regarding the Involvement of Law Enforcement in the Hijab Issue

Hossein Alaei, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the IRGC, criticized the activities of the morality police in a note published on April 16 in the Islamic Republic newspaper. He wrote that the years-long activities of the morality police not only failed to reduce the level of improper hijab in society but also provoked a strong reaction and led to an increase in less strict hijab among some women.

This former senior IRGC commander emphasized that the type of clothing and hijab is a social issue and a moral subject, noting that this matter is far removed from law enforcement and security duties, and the structure of the law enforcement agency is not suitable for dealing with it.

Ahmadreza Radan, the commander of the national police, had previously threatened that starting Saturday, April 15, action would be taken against women without hijab, and smart technologies would be used to document hijab violations. In response to Radan’s threats, a large number of women appeared in public places without the mandatory hijab on Saturday and shared images of themselves on social media.