Irans dresscode crackdown, what effects will it have?

[Ryan_Liam]

I’ve just been reading about how the Basiji militia and the Iranian police have been working towards enforcing stricter moral dress codes on the population, even suggesting repeat offenders be exiled to different parts of the country, coupled with a ban on barbers allowing Western style haircuts for men.

I’m wondering as to whether this will be effective in restoring the ideals of the Islamic republic on the population, or whether it will just force people into the opposite direction. I mean, when there economy is in the doldrums (even though they’re a major oil exporter, the price of food has gone up and the Government has instituted petrol rationing) what’s the point of antagonising the public even more with dress codes etc, when corruption and government incompetence are even more of a threat?

Islamic dress codes enforced in the Capital

[Sage_Rat]

My guess would be that this is more the kind of law that gives them an excuse to pick up people the dislike and jail. It probably won’t touch the majority of the population–just lib’ral city folk.

[enigm4tic]

@Sage Rat

My guess would be that this is more the kind of law that gives them an excuse to pick up people the dislike and jail. It probably won’t touch the majority of the population–just lib’ral city folk.

agreed. This sort of ambiguous proposal generally is used to crack down on specific political enemies. Next thing you know all of the liberals in the city will be barbers giving bad haircuts… who knew :smack:

[Captain_Lance_Murdoch]

@Sage Rat

My guess would be that this is more the kind of law that gives them an excuse to pick up people the dislike and jail. It probably won’t touch the majority of the population–just lib’ral city folk.

I think just the opposite. This is the kind of thing that will touch the daily life of many Iranians. The easing of the dress code was the most tactile change that came from Khatami’s time as pres. and now that is gone. This is not some esoteric “death to America” kind of thing that doesn’t really change the way people live their day-to-day lives. This is going to hit people every day in a way they can feel. And it’s not just an excuse to round up people the state doesn’t like. Those people can easily be brought in for other offenses if so desired. This is carried out by Basiji roaming the streets looking for scoff-laws. Reports I’ve seen told of the warning spreading fast through Tehran and lots of people staying inside. I would imagine a new normalcy has already emerged with a lot of coats and such being put away for good in favor of more dowdy garb. Some old-timers will applaud the crack-down. Many young people will resent it and Iran is a very young nation.

[BrainGlutton]

There will be a brisk underground trade in pornography featuring women’s bare, naked faces! :eek:

(SNL did a skit on that, back during Gulf War I.)

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@Captain Lance Murdoch

Many young people will resent it and Iran is a very young nation.

But they seem to lack the will to change things.

Where are the Iranian youths who are willing to say such radical things like “No Great Satan ever made me grow my hair long”?

[Magiver]

@BrainGlutton

There will be a brisk underground trade in pornography featuring women’s bare, naked faces! :eek:

(SNL did a skit on that, back during Gulf War I.)

that’s not a joke and it’s not just faces. Add hair to the list.

This is not the beginning of the problem. This is a result of the problem. It began when the elections were rigged by eliminating candidates who were not spiritually qualified to run.

[Kimstu]

@QtM

Where are the Iranian youths who are willing to say such radical things like “No Great Satan ever made me grow my hair long”?

Well, there’s about two thousand of them in Shiraz, apparently:

Two thousand Iranian students at a prestigious university in the southern city of Shiraz have staged a protest over fresh restrictions on their conduct and clothing, [the liberal newspaper] Etemad Melli also reported on Tuesday. […] A visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a prominent Tehran university in November 2006 generated angry scenes, with the students heckling the president and calling him a “dictator.”

In fact, the current dress-code crackdown appears to be getting negative reactions even from the hard-liner head of the Judiciary: :eek:

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who is appointed by the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned police against heavy-handed actions against women found to have broken the rules.

“Hauling women and young people to the police station will have no use except to cause damage to society,” the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper quoted Shahroudi as telling a meeting of local governors.

“Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counterproductive effects,” he warned.

Moreover, this crackdown is apparently an annual event, although it’s being more vigorously promoted this year:

The campaign - an annual pre-summer crackdown given greater prominence this year - is aimed primarily at women whose coats are seen as too tight, trousers excessively short or headscarves overly loose.