WUNRN
IRAN - RULING THAT MANNEQUINS IN
SHOPS MUST
WEAR HIJABS & OBSERVE ISLAMIC
DRESS CODES
TEHRAN: Iranian police warned shopkeepers yesterday not to
use mannequins without headscarves or which exposed body curves, official news
agency IRNA reported. "Using unusual mannequins exposing the body curves and
with the heads without Hijabs (Muslim veil) are prohibited to be used in the
shops," Iran's moral security police in charge of Islamic dress codes said
in a statement carried by IRNA. Iranian police have stepped up a crackdown on
both women and men, boutiques and small companies which fail to enforce strict
religious dress codes since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to office in
2005.
The measures are the latest in a country-wide campaign against Western cultural
influences in the Islamic Republic, where strict dress codes are enforced.
"Both showing necktie and bowtie behind the windows ... and (the) selling
(of) women's underwear by men are prohibited," said the police statement.
In the past, crackdowns tended to be launched at the start of Iran's hot
summers and petered out soon after. But last year they extended into winter and
included a drive against tight women's trousers and even men with spiky
"Western" hairstyles.
Those who violate dress codes are usually cautioned on a first offence, sometimes
after a brief visit to a police station. But they can be detained for longer,
taken to court and required to have "guidance classes" after repeat
offences. Dress codes are most often flouted in wealthier, urban areas.
Conservative dress is the norm in poorer, rural areas.
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