Moral Police in Tehran to classify "street women"
News sources from inside Iran: Ahmad Roozbehani, the Chief of Moral Police in Tehran, told reporters yesterday that the mission for Moral Security Police patrols includes confronting loiterers, street women, loud music, inappropriately dressed people, etc. He disclosed that by next summer, 70000 new members will be recruited into Moral Security Police. In response to reporters' question about guidelines and criteria used by the Moral Police, Roozbehani indicated "We have provided detailed training to our staff, and even given them images of typical immodest women or examples of perversion. Not every woman who shows some hair is a target."
Roozbehani claimed that crackdown on "perversion bands" has increased by 30% last year: "These are people who organize house parties or establish perverted houses." He also spoke of the new effort to classify "street women" into those who sell their body for money and those who are wealthy but promiscuous: "Those in financial need should be offered some job or guidance." Roozbehani also reported that the majority of knife-wielding street bullies have been rounded up.
Last year, reformists accused the Police under Ahmadinejad to recruit rounded up violent street bullies into pro-government militia (pictured in archived image below) and use them to crack down on students, reformists and peace activists, and torture political prisoners.
