Iran’s Morality Police

About:

• The morality police is known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or "Guidance Patrol".
• They were established under hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to "spread the culture of modesty and hijab", the mandatory female head covering.
• The unit began patrols in 2006.
• The Gasht-e Ershad are part of the police force and supervised by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the elected government has a say in their activities through the Interior Ministry.
• Both men and women officials are part of the morality police.

Functions:

• It was constituted to enforce the rules on morality and the public appearance of women, especially wearing the hijab.
  • The hijab became mandatory four years after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the US-backed monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Not only the enforcement of hijab, but the implementation of other rules on public appearance and conduct, according to the Iranian authorities’ interpretation of the Sharia, are also the responsibility of the police.
• In 2010, for instance, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance issued a template for suitable haircuts for men in order to halt Western influence on culture, and the morality police were tasked with enforcement at salons.