Life in a Theocracy: Iran cracks down on “vices”.

In today’s installment of Life in a Theocracy, we travel to Persia where the Islamic government enforces Sharia law.

Maybe you’ve had to dress up for church, didn’t that suck? That’s the way it is in Iran, 24/7 now. Although there has been periods of liberal enforcement, the Iranian Police has announced renewed efforts to crack down on “vices”.

The police are warning they will deal seriously with any women who dare to wear short trousers, skimpy overcoats or skirts that are revealingly transparent or have slits in them.

Can you imagine being an Iranian Police officer, having to spend your timing judging the transparency of skirts and the skimpiness of overcoats? Do you think any of them signed up for that? The regulations continue…

Wearing boots instead of full length trousers will not be tolerated, nor will hats instead of headscarves. Indeed, the police stipulate that small headscarves are out - the scarf must cover a woman's head and neck completely.

The article doesn’t mention this but this crackdown occurred for two purposes. One establishes the dominance of Iranian patriarchal religious culture over women and their habits. When the Imams control women’s fashion, and sexual behavior, they control the society. Another purpose is to push back against the slow intrusion of western culture. Since western culture allows human nature its most free expression, western dress and trends constantly seep into Iranian society. This is repudiated by the government, sometimes in formal enforcement actions like this one. Both the power of women and western culture in Iran are threats to the ruling class, and as a result they were cracked down on. Increased repression shows that there is instability. We might be seeing the beginning of another revolutionary period in Iran.