There Iranian Morality Police (“Gašt-e Eršâd” in Farsi) is a branch of Iran’s law enforcement agency whose mission is to promote Islamic customs and repress any “deviance” in this regard. This religious police body has been active, under various denominations, since Iranian Revolution of 1979. It has earned a bad reputation over time, having always been at the forefront of the action of repression of movements forfemale emancipation as well as in punishing women guilty of the “crime” of transgress with one’s clothing the dictates of the Code which regulates strict adherence to the Shari’a and the values of Islam, with the obligation, for example, to wear the veil. In this regard, the episode of the killing in Tehran (on 16 September 2022) by the police forces of Mahsa Aminia girl accused of wearing the hijab incorrectly, an event that triggered violent protests against the regime of the ayatollahs throughout Iran.
Origin and mission of the Moral Police
In the period immediately following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the newly installed revolutionary authorities decided to establish, starting from the galaxy of paramilitary formations that had supported the cause of the new president Khomeini, a new armed corpswhich had as its mission the protection of public order, called “Committees of the Islamic Revolution” which went alongside the pre-existing ones Shahrbani (literally “Order Service”the name by which the “city police” was known) e Gendarmerie (name by which the “rural police”). Unlike the latter, however, the “Committees” also had the mission of ensuring the full adherence of the population to the dictates of the Islamic Revolution, particularly in relation to the clothing.
In 1991, following a complete reorganization of the Armed and Security Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Shahrbani, the Gendarmerie and the Islamic Revolution Committees were merged into a single structure called Disciplinary Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran (basically the Police). Within this large structure, then divided into numerous departments with different skills, the so-called “Moral Police” he specifically inherited the mission of the old Committees.
The Moral Police and the condition of women in Iran
Reading foreign news it is easy to understand the reason why the Iranian Moral Police has earned the nickname of “most hated organ of the ayatollah regime”. The Moral Police, in fact, has the task of keep watch, disciplinary and, in case, repressi behaviors of individuals which are considered in the political-value system of the Islamic Republic of Iran “deviants”. Examples of these behaviors are consuming alcoholsound certain musical genresmix men and women in non-segregated places, demonstrate publicly affected through kisses and hugs, exchange gifts on the occasion of “non-Islamic” celebrations such as Valentine’s Day, do not attend thetime of prayerdo not scrupulously observe the Islamic dress code.
This last point represents a sore point, especially for women Iranian womenwho began to protest against the compulsory veil already in the period immediately following the Iranian Revolution. During the massive protests that shook Iran after the killing of Mahsa Amini of 2022, the Moral Police has become themain target of the protesters’ ireespecially the younger ones. Although at the moment of maximum intensity of the protests there had been some timid announcements relating to one possible abolition of the Morality Police as well as to one reform of the Islamic dress code, nothing has been achieved in this regard and, indeed, the regime reacted by further tightening its ties repression.
In which other countries does a “religious police” still exist?
Although the Iranian one is the most striking case, in reality there are other examples “religious police” in the world. At least today there are 17 countries which also present within their security forces formations with operational tasks similar to those of the Iranian Moral Police. Let’s talk about the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabiaof the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Gaza Strip under the control of Hamas and the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Afghanistan under the control of Taliban.
Curiously, for a long period of time (from 1959 to 2001), even theItaly had a department of State Police which had as its mission to protect the public morality although, in practice, this mainly referred to crimes relating to the world of prostitution and violence against minorstotally different areas compared to the field of action of the Iranian Moral Police and the other religious police bodies of Islamic countries.
