June 17, 2022
The regime has sent morality police onto university campuses in recent weeks to enforce the dress code on women, prompting protests by both male and female students.
Students at Tehran’s University of Science and Technology held a protest gathering and march on their campus, complaining of intimidation by the police.
That rally took place four days after a member of the Islamic Association of the university was beaten while distributing a statement against the new enforcement measures.
The students chanted such slogans as “Girls’ dormitory is a prison cell” and “We do not want police-style guards.”
Iran International reported that morality guards at the University of Science and Technology and Amirkabir University had begun motorcycle patrols to enforce compliance.
Other guards stationed at the gates of the universities and at dormitories have also been unprecedently strict, denying access to those whose appearance is not deemed “appropriate.”
The new motorcycle patrols not only check for dress code violations, but also observe if male and female students sit and mingle together on the campus. If they see such fraternization, they write down their student ID numbers, which means they could face consequences if they repeat such behavior, Iran International reported.
Similar measures have also been reported in other universities of the capital, with some students describing the unprecedented restrictions as similar to those imposed by the Taliban.
The Islamic Students Associations of the University of Tehran and Tehran University of Medical Sciences also wrote to the presidents of their universities to criticize the new measures.
Students say after the re-opening of higher education institutions this year, the atmosphere has greatly changed. Authorities appointed after Ebrahim Raisi became president, they say, are taking an aggressive approach to enforcing Islamic discipline.
