With the month of Ramadan only a few days away, the Iranian State Security Force issued a directive threatening women and youths with more suppressive measures.
“All drivers and passengers have to observe the holy month of Ramadan and refrain from eating in public, playing loud music and behaving against Islamic norms. One of the spiritual aspects of the holy month is to observe the hijab more than ever before.”
The state-run Mehr news agency also quoted the Deputy SSF Commander in Khuzistan, Mohammad Salehi as saying, “With the beginning of the month of Ramadan, we will increase the number of moral security forces, police stations and plainclothes patrols in all districts.”
Every year, a large number of people are arrested, fined and even flogged across Iran in the month of Ramadan. There were even facts of pregnant women being flogged for drinking water in the public.
(State-run Mehr news agency, June 1, 2016)