Iran’s president criticised the use of thousands of undercover morality police in Tehran to report on young women who are not wearing a full Islamic hijab or those who play loud music in their cars.
Some 7,000 men and women officers began reporting such violations in Tehran, Iran’s capital, on Monday.
The head of police said the officers were not authorised to arrest anyone; they can only send reports of violations by text messages to police headquarters.
Asked about the undercover morality police, President Hassan Rouhani said such decisions should not be made by the government and he would keep his promise to preserve citizens’ freedom.
“Our first duty is to respect people’s dignity and personality. God has bestowed dignity to all human beings and this dignity precedes religion,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by the news agency ISNA on Wednesday.
