Birjand
04/12/2007 > IRAN
Fashion crackdown intensifies: arrests captured on film
Material compiled by our regional editor for Iran and Afghanistan, Jay Bakht
This video was captured on a mobile phone at the Abouzar roundabout in the eastern Iranian city of Birjand. It shows two girls being arrested by the police for not covering their hair properly. The police are supposed to act like a ‘moral authority’ that protects and enforces Islamic customs in Iranian society. But they are not always official. They can approach people acting ‘inappropriately’, for example an unmarried couple holding hands or a girl with heavy make-up. Many people try to resist; as the girls in the video.
Post your questions to Farnaz Seifi, Iranian feminist and our observer in Iran, or to Jay Bakht, our regional editor for Iran and Afghanistan.
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