TEHRAN: An Iranian policeman was reprimanded last week after he did not enforce the country’s dress code requiring women to cover their hair.

A video was widely shared on social media on Monday, showing a policeman in the western province of Kermanshah telling a woman that he did not consider the hijab to be compulsory for women.

“This lady wants to go out in this outfit… it’s none of my business,” the officer is heard saying in response to a woman asking him to confront another woman for not wearing the hijab.

“After a thorough investigation… the officer was summoned… and received the necessary warnings and training,” the Tasnim news agency said, citing a statement from the police of Kermanshah province.

The incident comes against the backdrop of a nationwide protest movement triggered by the Sept 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd who had been arrested for an alleged breach of the same dress code for women.

Hundreds of people, including security personnel, have been killed and thousands arrested during the protests, which the authorities often describe as “riots”.

Since the start of the protests, women have increasingly been seen without the hijab in public places, in many cases without eliciting a reaction from the police.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023