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Iran's police set for new crackdown on 'models' |
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Wednesday, 27 April 2005 |
AFP
 TEHRAN - Police in the Iranian capital are poised to launch a fresh crackdown targeting "models of corruption", or in other words poorly-veiled women, press reports said Wednesday.
"The police will act against the models of corruption out in public places and against those who may not be ladies of the street but whose conduct does not respect Islam," Tehran province's police chief, General Reza Zareie, was quoted as saying.
The general pledged that his forces would deploy in parks and streets around the capital that are frequented by residents on weekend picnics to escape the sprawling city's heat and pollution.
Pre-summer crackdowns on skimpy clothes and flimsy headscarfs are common in Islamic Iran, where all post-pubescent females are required to wear the veil and a long coat that conceals their bodily form.
Violators risk fines or imprisonment.
In large cities such as Tehran, the dress code has been increasingly flouted -- with many women barely covering their hair and sporting brightly-coloured, figure-hugging coats.
Earlier this month Tehran city's police chief, Brigadier General Morteza Talaie, also warned of an impending operation targeting those "who by their conduct or dress are perturbing public security and morality". |
