THE SQUIZ
A fresh crackdown on women breaking Iran’s headscarf rules has begun, according to the country’s state media. Iran’s morality police will return to the streets to enforce the strict Islamic hijab law, which states women must cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothing in public at all times. Reports say those found to be breaking the rules will be given a warning by police, who have the power to “then introduce those breaking the code to the judicial system”.

THIS IS SOUNDING A BIT FAMILIAR…
That’s probably because it’s been 10 months since 22yo Mahsa Amini’s death after she was detained for breaking those rules. She was arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly, and her death was believed to be the result of a police beating. Authorities denied that, but it kicked off widespread and violent protests across the country against the hijab rules – and the morality police, who stopped their patrols as a result. Data from the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said as of April, 537 protesters and 57 police officers had died, and an estimated 19,200 people were arrested in protests. It’s regarded as the biggest threat to Iran’s government since the 1979 revolution, and while the protests have never completely stopped, things have cooled off a bit.

SO WHY ARE AUTHORITIES STEPPING IT UP?
Iranian women have continued to defy the rules by not wearing head coverings in public, and experts say it was just a matter of time before the government had enough… Billboards started popping up in May telling women to wear head coverings “to honour their mothers”. Police have installed surveillance cameras to catch rule-breakers, and authorities have also been closing businesses for serving women not wearing hijabs. In the courts, one woman was recently sentenced to a month of washing and preparing corpses for burial for not wearing a head covering while driving. And last week, an Iranian actress was told to attend counselling “to cure her anti-social personality disorder” after attending a funeral in a baseball cap. But that hasn’t been enough for hardline Islamists, who have been pushing for more action from the morality police. Analysts say that almost a year after things exploded, it looks like the conservatives have got their way…