Officials in Iran said they were formulating plans to change law enforcement regarding women's clothing, amid a three-day widespread strike in which hundreds of businesses opened in Tehran and other cities in the country as part of a protest against the regime.
A huge rally is planned in Tehran on Wednesday, according to a report in the "Wall Street Journal".
The protest erupted in September after 22-year-old Masha Amini was arrested in Tehran by Iran's morality police on the grounds that she did not wear her headscarf as instructed.
Three days later, Amini died in a hospital, in a "tragic accident", according to the authorities.
Demonstrations were recorded across the country with the leading call being for the overthrow of the religious regime.
Iran's religious leaders began trying to weaken support for the protests.
Among other things, it was reported that the morality police was disbanded and the enforcement of the dress code, including the head covering (the hijab), was somewhat eased.
Yesterday (Monday), a spokesman for the morality police, known officially as the Committee for the Promotion of Purity and Prevention of Sins, said the task of enforcing its hijab laws was "now finished" in a statement published on Jamaran, an Iranian news website.
According to him, "new, more recent and more accurate methods have been adopted".
Iran's Attorney General, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, was the first to reveal the government's decision to disband the morality police.
However, a protester from Tehran said in response that the purpose of the announcement about the morality police is "to serve as a distraction from the calls for protest or to create division and sow doubt among the activists. This does not change the hatred of the people towards the government, and the demonstrations will continue."
The demonstrators called for a large rally tomorrow in the capital, although previous calls for huge rallies were not answered, despite public support.
This situation created a dispute between the protesters who are trying to find more ways to put pressure on the regime versus the rulers who are looking for a strategy that will put an end to the protests.
The call for a general strike was answered yesterday.
Videos uploaded to social media showed empty streets and closed businesses in many cities in the country, including Tehran.
"The regime cannot do anything about the strike now. But if the protesters take to the streets, they will respond with tear gas and bullets, as usual," said Etna Dami, a human rights activist in Tehran.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the Moral Police (Photo: Reuters)
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The hijab law is seen by Iran's religious rulers as a pillar of the Islamic Republic, and many conservatives believe that it must not be repealed because it would endanger the entire theocratic system.
Officials said they were planning new provisions to enforce the hijab law, likely including higher fines for women found violating the law, a move perhaps aimed at diverting attention from arrests and interrogations by the morality police.
Hossein Jalali, a member of parliament who serves on the culture committee that takes part in formulating the new laws, said in an interview with Iranian television that "they will be made to understand that if they want to break the law and create anarchy, they will have to pay a high price."
According to him, "a good plan was drawn up by the government".
High school girls protesting against the regime (photo: official website, Twitter)
Since the outbreak of the protests, the morality police have kept a low profile in Tehran, according to residents and activists.
The weakening of enforcement led to many women appearing in public without a head covering, with a scarf covering their shoulders instead.
According to Dami, the white vans in which the morality police patrolled in search of women who "violate" the hijab law, were even repainted as part of the dismantling of the police force.
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