Iran Focus
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 07 – The government of radical Islamist
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to segregate Iran’s pedestrian walkways on
gender basis, according to Fatemeh Alia, a deputy in Iran’s Majlis
(Parliament) and one of Ahmadinejad’s closest allies.
Since
Ahmadinejad took office as president, new measures have been enforced to,
in his words, “return the Islamic Republic to the days of the [1979
Islamic] revolution”.
As part of the government plan called
“Increase the hejab (veil) culture and female chastity”, the Ministry of
Housing and Urban Development has received orders to construct separate
pedestrian walkways for men and women, according to Alia.
“This
plan is the most advanced and complete plan regarding the hejab. In the
next two weeks its final considerations will be complete and it will start
to be implemented”.
Previously, when he was Mayor of Tehran,
Ahmadinejad ordered all the buildings belonging to the municipality to
have separate elevators for men and women.
“The Ministry of Housing
and Urban Development will have an obligation to construct apartments in a
special way … which would be in line with the culture and atmosphere of an
Islamic society. The Ministry of Roads and Transport must pay special
attention to the walkways, roads, railways, and transportation routes so
that we no longer get reports of mal-veiling in these routes”, the
hard-line Majlis deputy said.
Alia added that special provisions
also had to be made for tourists who travel to Iran so that they also
adhere to Islamic regulations.
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