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modesty police

A woman walks past clothing for sale on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, October 6, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian women defy restrictions to embrace clothing freedom
By Sébastien RICCI, Majid Sourati and MENNA ZAKI
After decades of strict modesty rules, Iran's younger generation has started pushing back, prompting shopkeepers to adapt even as they remain wary of potential backlash
Iranian women walk in front of a billboard depicting slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (C) and his successor Hashem Safieddine (R) as well as the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran on September 28, 2025.(Atta Kenare/AFP)
December 3, 2025, 4:42 pm
Iran’s Khamenei defends hijab as more women flout strict dress code
Supreme leader tells women that those who wear the headscarf ‘can progress more than others,’ after conservatives accuse judiciary of becoming lax on modesty laws
By AFP
This picture taken and released by the Sharq News Online on January 14, 2024, shows Iranian journalists Niloufar Hamedi (R) and Elaheh Mohammadi (L) flashing the sign of victory after they were released from Evin prison on bail in Tehran. (Photo by Sahand TAKI/Sharq news online/AFP)
January 14, 2024, 6:17 pm
After over 12 months, Iran frees two jailed reporters who covered Mahsa Amini death
Niloufar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi released from Evin prison on bail while awaiting ruling on appeal of years-long jail sentences, after covering infamous 2022 death of 22-year-old
By AFP
FILE - A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish "Justice for Mahsa Amini" as she protests against the death of Amini, an Iranian woman who died while in police custody in Iran, in front of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
December 10, 2023, 1:44 pm
Iran bans Mahsa Amini’s family from traveling to receive EU’s top human rights prize
Civil rights monitor says ban placed on relatives of woman whose death in police custody sparked nationwide protests; family’s lawyer allowed to go to France to accept award
By AP
Illustrative: Nasibe Samsaei, an Iranian woman living in Turkey, cuts her ponytail off during a protest outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul on September 21, 2022, following the death of an Iranian woman after her arrest by the country's morality police in Tehran. (Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
September 22, 2022, 5:18 pm
With cross-class, ethnic, gender support, Iran protests pose new test for regime
Unrest unifies diverse groups and comes at particularly sensitive time for the ayatollahs, with economy still bogged down by international sanctions over nuclear program
By Stuart Williams
People participate in a protest against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi outside of the United Nations on September 21, 2022 in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP)
September 22, 2022, 10:25 am
Biden hails ‘brave’ Iranian women in UN speech as protests continue
US president says he stands with women fighting for their rights; protests across country continue after 22-year-old killed by morality police for wearing hijab too loose
By Shaun Tandon and Stuart Williams
A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran on September 21, 2022, shows Iranian demonstrators burning a rubbish bin in the capital Tehran during a protest for Mahsa Amini, days after she died in police custody. (AFP)
September 22, 2022, 9:57 am
Tehran women anxious after death of woman detained by modesty police over headscarf
Some call for freedom to wear what they want, but now take extra care to fall in line with rules due to of fear Guidance Patrol; protests continue in wake of Mahsa Amini’s demise
By AFP
The front pages of Iranian newspapers featuring articles and photographs of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died three days after being arrested by the Islamic republic's 'morality police,' seen on September 18, 2022. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
September 18, 2022, 10:56 pm
Iranian woman’s death in custody galvanizes critics of ‘morality police’
Nearly all Iranian newspapers dedicate front-page to Mahsa Amini, while social media erupts in anger at her death; President Ebrahim Raisi tells family he will probe incident
By Ahmad Parhizi
The campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. (Dani Machlis)
March 26, 2022, 6:51 pm
Head of Ben-Gurion University says school uncovered Islamist ‘modesty squads’
Prof. Daniel Chamovitz says group consisted of three people who photographed female Bedouin students and sent pictures back to their clans if they were not modest enough
By ToI Staff
A Saudi woman holds a national flag with picture of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, marking National Day to commemorate the unification of the country as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
December 29, 2019, 5:34 pm
Saudi Arabia arrests dozens for ‘indecency,’ harassment
Crackdown comes only days after religiously conservative kingdom touted its openness by hosting electronic music festival
By AFP
Saudi human resources professional Mashael al-Jaloud, right, walks in Western clothes past women wearing niqabs and abayas, an Islamic dress-code for women, at a commercial area in the Saudi capital Riyadh on September 3, 2019. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP)
September 12, 2019, 8:17 pm
‘Rebel’ Saudi women shun obligatory abaya robe
Some activists are pushing the limits of liberalization reforms by stepping outside without billowy over-garment, which is seen as a symbol of piety
By Anuj Chopra
Ultra-Orthodox people walk past a “modesty sign“ in Beit Shemesh. (Sam Sokol)
August 8, 2018, 2:08 pm
Dropouts from ultra-Orthodox life battle extremists in a divided Israeli city
In Beit Shemesh, tensions are spiking between those seeking to enforce strict modesty ideals and those who reject them
By Sam Sokol
Screen capture from video of an encounter between an Iranian woman and the country's morality police, that allegedly in Tehran, Iran. (YouTube)
April 24, 2018, 9:50 am
Assault on woman by Iranian cops sparks headscarves debate
Iran’s president criticizes heavy-handed approach by morality police, but chief judiciary chief vows law enforcement will remain strict
By Nasser Karimi and Mohammad Nasiri
Leah Aharoni
December 5, 2017, 3:36 pm
Leah Aharoni
Seeing through the duct tape
A singer who took an extreme measure to avoid seeing women dance violated the spirit of Jewish law
Laura Ben-David
November 7, 2017, 9:43 am
Laura Ben-David
The road to hell is paved with torn billboards
How is it holy to teach that women and girls should not be seen?
Worshippers at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman in Uman, Ukraine (CC BY-SA Nahoumsabban, Wikimedia Commons via JTA)
August 30, 2017, 8:24 pm
Bratslav elders seek to keep perimeter of Rabbi Nachman gravesite women-free
In ‘urgent call to preserve modesty’ of pilgrims in Uman, Ukraine, on Rosh Hashanah, rabbis urge visitors not to buy from female shopkeepers
By ToI Staff
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