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Monday 25 April 2016-VOA- Iran has a new \u201cmorality police\u201d unit to observe its citizens.
\nTehran\u2019s police chief Hossein Sajedinia said the 7,000 officers \u2013 male and female \u2013 will make sure women follow Islamic dress codes. They will also stop dangerous driving and noise pollution, he said. Some in Iran consider popular music to be a form of noise pollution.<\/p>\n
The new police unit appears to be aimed mostly at women. It is enforcing laws that require women to cover their hair and bodies.
\nAccording to the U.S. State Department, women of all religious groups in Iran are expected to follow \u201cIslamic dress\u201d rules in public. That includes covering their hair and wearing loose clothing that fully covers the body.
\nMembers of the \u201cmorality police\u201d will not wear police uniforms. This allows them to watch people without showing they are part of the police.
\nIran\u2019s police chief said morality officers will not take action themselves. Instead they will give information \u2013 such as license plate numbers \u2013 to regular police who will follow up on reported violations.
\nIranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized the announcement, according to the BBC and Foreign Policy.com. The president promised during his election campaign to give people more freedom.
\nRouhani said government\u2019s \u201cfirst duty\u201d is to \u201crespect dignity\u201d and allow people to express their \u201cpersonalities.\u201d
\nThe announcement also drew criticism on social media.
\n\u201cBig Brother is watching you,\u201d one person wrote on Twitter.
\nBBC reported some people created a phone app to report locations of \u201cmorality police\u201d so women can avoid them. An app is a computer program on phones and computers that allow people to get information, music or other material.
\nI’m Mario Ritter.
\nGolnaz Esfandiari reported on this story for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
\nWe want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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