Promoters of Virtue are replacing the Guidance Patrol
Promoters of Virtue are replacing the Guidance Patrol. From the patrols of the Revolutionary Committees to Tharallah and Jundallah, and lastly the Guidance Patrol, they came and went but were never shut down. Even now, it’s unclear whether the Guidance Patrol has been shut down or not, whose responsibility it was, and whether there is a replacement. Everyone speaks of unclear and ambiguous statements about the fate of this patrol or the so-called morality police, and that no one takes responsibility for its creation or termination.
When no one takes responsibility
After the prosecutor’s remarks stating that the judiciary neither took the slightest step nor had a plan to shut down this patrol, and that it was shut down from the same place it was established, a member of the country’s internal affairs and councils commission says that the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution announced that they had not assigned such a mission to the police nor did they have such expectations from them.
The irony of the matter is that even for Alireza Beigi, a member of parliament, it’s a question mark whether the Guidance Patrol was a personal idea or based on a mission given by the official institutions of the system. That’s why he said that currently no one takes responsibility for this issue, although the responsibility of this representative is not to ask questions but to find answers and respond to public opinion.
Alongside this, Al-Alam network, in reaction to the prosecutor general’s announcement of the Guidance Patrol’s shutdown, emphasized that no official in the Islamic Republic of Iran has confirmed the shutdown of the Guidance Patrol.
Meanwhile, according to Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the former police chief, the formation of the Guidance Patrol was based on a resolution passed in the late eighth government in the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and was implemented early during Ahmadinejad’s government. On August 4, 2005, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution approved strategies for promoting the culture of chastity. The police, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Intelligence are among the institutions that are members of this committee.
In this resolution, the topic of the Guidance Patrol was not explicitly mentioned, and only generalities were stated. This council had resolutions on this matter in the years 1997 and 2019. In the summer of 2006, police officials announced the start of the Guidance Patrol’s activities and said these patrols were only tasked with warning individuals about improper hijab. However, in the following months, the approach changed, and police officials reported the arrest of several women. Subsequently, various social security plans were implemented in different areas.
The Promoters of Virtue Committee won’t back down
The prosecutor had previously stated that the issue of hijab would be resolved by the end of December. It seems the parliament and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution are looking for a new plan. A member of parliament said regarding what he heard two or three weeks ago about the new plan from the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, that the Guidance Patrol had no place in it and that the decision was for positive actions. Some reports also suggest replacing coercive arrests with social deprivation penalties.
Meanwhile, the website of the Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice continuously publishes news about public demands to address improper hijab. For example, a group of people from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari signed a petition requesting the Islamic Consultative Assembly to enact updated and effective laws to solve the problem of improper hijab and immodesty in society, or a public petition demanding from parliament representatives to organize and solve the issue of improper hijab and immodesty in society was signed by people and Friday prayer attendees in Karaj.
The silent removal of the Guidance Patrol coincides with the Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice Committee commending the governor of Qom for dismissing a bank manager who provided services to an improperly veiled woman and highlighting the summoning of a store manager in Hamedan for not supporting the Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice. They report that following the unveiling of several women in a chain store in Hamedan, the store manager and security officer were summoned to the Promoters of Virtue Committee in Hamedan.
Obstructing or bothering a promoter of virtue carries a penalty
The website of the Promoters of Virtue Committee also references a part of the law supporting Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice passed by the ninth parliament, stating that according to Article 9 of the law supporting Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice, natural or legal persons are not allowed to obstruct the implementation of promoting virtue and preventing vice, and creating any type of obstruction and disturbance recognized as a crime by law results in penalties in addition to the prescribed punishment, including imprisonment or fines.
It further states that legal persons who misuse power or legal and administrative authorities to obstruct the establishment of promoting virtue and preventing vice will, in addition to administrative penalties, be banned from one or more occupational or social activities permanently or for a maximum of five years, depending on the case.
The entry of the Promoters of Virtue Committee and the protests
While many individuals, especially the conservatives themselves, consider the harsh and unmeasured statements of Hashemi Golpayegani, the secretary of the Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice Committee, in intensifying and threatening actions against improper hijab as one of the reasons for the start of protests after the death of Mahsa Amini and the demand for optional hijab, now this individual has written a letter to Ebrahim Raisi, announcing the committee’s readiness to organize the protests.
In this letter, it is stated that this popular and revolutionary institution, also referring to its inherent duties as the direct responsible for cultural advocacy, support, and pursuit of these demands until achieving results, and comprehensive support of advocates, announces its readiness to organize public protests and gatherings in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior.