Fashion Police

The real kind.

Only days after Iran’s annual crackdown on immodest dress began in mid-April, with teams of police officers stopping women in major squares and subway stations to warn them about their attire, the security authorities came under fire.

Many women who were stopped on the street and told to dress properly reacted angrily. A parliamentary commission complained about the campaign to the chief of police, and the head of Iran’s judiciary warned that a too repressive policy could bring a backlash. Even an adviser to the president urged caution, saying the police “should not go to the extreme,” according to the daily Etemad-e-Melli.

The Tehran chief of police, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, said during the drive that the security forces would single out women who wore only small head scarves or short tight coats and short pants. He also said the police were turning their attention to men in the second phase of its campaign, which began Saturday.

He insisted that the authorities would avoid force — and arrests — and would only talk to violators to urge them to dress appropriately. Still, he said 150 women a day had been taken to detention centers as the crackdown began.

In Iran, Tactics of Fashion Police Raise Concerns