Tehran police: No more arrests for flouting dress code

Police in Iran’s capital say they will no longer arrest women for failing to observe the Islamic dress code imposed since the 1979 revolution.

The reformist daily Sharq quotes Gen. Hossein Rahimi, the Tehran police chief, as saying “those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centers, nor will judicial cases be filed against them.”

Women watch people riding boats on the Persian Gulf Martyrs lake during the ancient festival of Sizdeh Bedar, west of Tehran, Iran, April 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

The semi-official Tasnim news agency says violators will instead be made to attend classes given by police. It says repeat offenders could still be subject to legal action.

Younger and more liberal-minded Iranian woman have long pushed the boundaries of the official dress code, wearing loose headscarves that don’t fully cover their hair and painting their nails, drawing the ire of conservatives.

— AP

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