Iran launches new drive against slack dressers

TEHRAN: Iran has launched a fresh nationwide drive aimed at forcing women whose clothes are deemed too tight and headscarves overly skimpy to fall in line with its Islamic dress rules.

Iranian newspapers printed pictures of women in tight and colourful clothing being given warnings on Tehran's streets by female police officers dressed in chadors as the crackdown got underway on Saturday.

Such moves by the police are customary every year as Iran's hot summer begins, hem lines become shorter and more skin is revealed. But people have been warned about this year's crackdown with more prominence than in the past.

According to the Fars news agency, women were initially notified of their transgression on the street and if they showed resistance they were then taken to a correctional centre in Tehran.

Its reporter saw a bus of 15 women arriving at the centre in central Iran. Their parents were then notified, names and photos added to a database and they were allowed to leave after signing a written commitment and changing clothes.

The authorities have argued the "bad hejab (headscarf)" drive is aimed at encouraging women to dress in line with Islamic dress code and it appeared the emphasis was more on handing out warnings than detaining offenders.

Conservatives have applauded the new crackdown as necessary to preserve public morals as women in Tehran increasingly push the boundaries over what is permissible to wear in public.