Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Monday that the morality police will no longer “bother” women, speaking to the media on the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16, 2022, after being arrested by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
Her death sparked widespread protests across Iran, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including many security personnel, and thousands of arrests.
Pezeshkian, who took office in July, stated, “The morality police were not supposed to confront (women). I will follow up so they don’t bother them.” He replaced Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
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During his election campaign, Pezeshkian promised to fully oppose police patrols enforcing the mandatory hijab and to ease long-standing internet restrictions. Iran has tightly controlled internet access over the years, limiting popular social media platforms like Facebook and X, with stricter measures imposed after protests in 2019 and following Amini’s death.
At the press conference, Pezeshkian indicated that his government is working to relax online restrictions, especially concerning social media.
