Morality police swoop on festivities near Tehran as crackdown on socialising of men and women grows during summer months

Up to 150 people have been detained in Iran after the morality police raided what has been described as a mixed-gender party near Tehran.

In the sweltering heat and as people spend more time outside, the authorities tighten their grip on social norms, cracking down on activities deemed un-Islamic.

Such restrictions have become a regular feature of Iranian life since the 1979 Islamic revolution, as members of the morality police appear on the streets, or are deployed in vans at public places, to tackle women defying the compulsory hijab, men with non-approved hairstyles, or males and females partying together.



Mohsen Khancherli, a senior police commander, confirmed to the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Monday that the arrests had been made, but did not say whether any of those detained were still in custody.



“A while ago, we received a tipoff about a mixed-gender party at a garden in the vicinity of Islamshahr, in the west of the Tehran province,” he said. “[Police forces managed] to arrest tens of boys and girls during a joint operation with one of the relevant departments.”



Khancherli said police were closely monitoring gardens and public halls in the area, noting that their efforts had been stepped up during summer.



“In this garden, which was situated next to an unlicensed studio for recording underground music, nearly 150 boys and girls had gathered in a mixed-gender party under the pretext of a birthday celebration,” he said. “But all participants were detained by the police and subsequently referred to the judicial authorities.”



Many Iranians see these measures as an infringement on their private lives, especially when police interfere in wedding ceremonies or parties in private buildings. The crackdown has also helped engender corruption, because many people feel compelled to bribe police in order to protect their guests and hold a peaceful wedding ceremony.

The searches have proved costly for partygoers, with some being sentenced to lashes for consuming alcohol or prison for related crimes.



Afshin Naghouni, an Iranian-born painter based in London, was badly affected by one such incident in the years after the revolution. He fell and was left paralysed after escaping to the roof of a residential block, when the morality police raided a party he had attended. His ordeal was the subject of a 2014 documentary film called Out of Focus, made by the Iranian film-maker Shahriar Siami.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Satellite dishes on a balcony in Tehran. Military units recently launched a crackdown on the illegal items. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has repeatedly opposed crackdowns on women’s clothing and called for people’s privacy to be respected, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Police act independently of his administration and operate under the direct control of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

With Iran’s presidential election taking place next year, the hardline judiciary and police appear to be defying Rouhani’s policies in an apparent attempt to undermine his social efforts. Although the president’s hands are tied in regards to policing and judiciary matters, critics have said he can do more to address the issues.



The morality police are particularly concerned about anything from loose-fitting headscarves, tight overcoats and shortened trousers for women, to glamorous hairstyles or necklaces for men. Walking dogs has also been added to the long list of activities that upset the authorities.



Earlier this week, the informal voluntary Basij militia, affiliated to the elite Revolutionary Guards, announced that they had destroyed 100,000 illegal satellite dishes confiscated from rooftops.

In recent months, 35 students were detained and subsequently flogged in Qazvin province, 62 were arrested at a mixed-gender party in Bandar Abbas, 23 were held at a party in Kerman and 70 were detained at a party in a restaurant in Tehran.



The question of morality remains a daily battle between police and ordinary citizens. Illegal satellite dishes have been multiplying, despite threats of reprisals, and the way millions of women dress in a constant pushback against the authorities is a clear indication of where Iranians stand on the matter.

