Iran: President Masoud Pezeshkian announces new move on hijab

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Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has announced that the country’s morality police will no longer ‘bother’ women over wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf.

This statement comes on the heels of the UN’s warning that women in Iran are still being violently punished for violating the strict dress code.

Pezeshkian’s comments coincide with the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody. Amini, a 22-year-old, was arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab properly, sparking widespread protests across the nation.

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During a press conference, Pezeshkian assured a female reporter who had taken detours to avoid police vans that the morality police should no longer confront women on the street.

The reporter was wearing her headscarf loosely, with some hair visible, a subtle yet significant departure from the strict dress code typically enforced at government events.

In response, the president said: “The morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don’t bother [them]”.

Pezeshkian, considered a potential reformist leader, took office after his predecessor died in a helicopter crash.

Before becoming the president, Pezeshkian represented Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr electoral district in the Parliament of Iran, and also served as its First Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2020

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