Since the death of Ms. Amini, morality agents have rarely been seen and many women are appearing in public every day without the hijab in an act of civil disobedience. But other security forces, including the notoriously brutal Basij militiamen, have beaten and arrested women deemed to be defying the hijab law, videos posted on social media show.
In his comments on Monday, Mr. Mohammadi confirmed that “the work of the morality police and social safety, which were operating under the security forces and by the order of the judiciary and prosecutor’s office, has been terminated for now.” He emphasized that the authorities were considering “newer, more updated and detailed methods” for enforcing morality laws.
When Mr. Montazeri, the attorney general, said over the weekend that the morality police had been shut down, he added that the judiciary would continue to monitor social behavior, leaving open the possibility that the mandatory hijab law would continue to be enforced.
A day earlier, Mr. Montazeri had said the judiciary was working with other authorities to draft a bill “related to the field of chastity and hijab,” and was expected to reach an agreement within 15 days.
Mr. Raisi, the president, said in a televised interview on Saturday that “there are methods and mechanisms for the implementation of the law that should be reviewed,” according to IRNA, Iran’s state-run news agency.
Appearing Monday at a pro-hijab rally in the holy city of Qom, Hossein Jalali, a member of Parliament, said the government was not backing down on the hijab law.
“We will not retreat from the hijab and chastity policy, otherwise the retreat will be equal to giving up on the whole Islamic Republic,” he said. “Hijab is our flag and we will not let it fall.”
