At least eight female models were arrested in Iran last month for posing without headscarves in photos posted online. The arrests were reportedly part of a covert operation dubbed Spider II that aimed at seeking out women who frequently post photographs without wearing the hijab. The arrests were made on May 16 after Iranian authorities reportedly scanned through thousands of Instagram profiles.
The state media’s news report on these arrests included a recording of model Elham Arab, who is sought after for her photo shoots in wedding dresses. Speaking to her prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, with her blonde hair tucked under a black headscarf, Arab tried to clarify her stance.
“All people love beauty and fame,” Arab said. “They would like to be seen, but it is important to know what price they will pay to be seen.”
The report did not specify exactly what charges Arab faced nor did it name the remaining seven women who were arrested along with her. It only said that authorities had tracked roughly 170 people as part of the operation by monitoring their social media activities. Of them, 58 were believed to be models and 59 makeup artists or photographers. Apparently, those targeted also witnessed their Facebook and Instagram accounts being deleted and businesses shutting down.
“We must fight with enemy's actions in this area,” Dowlatabadi said. “Of course our actions in this area will continue.”
Last month’s arrests were part of a covert operation dubbed Spider II that aimed at seeking out women who frequently post photographs without wearing the hijab. It has been mandatory for women to cover their heads in Iran for over three decades.
Even though President Hassan Rouhani’s government is not as strict in enforcing the law, religious hardliners in the country’s police and judiciary continue to claim that exposed hair on women is un-Islamic.
Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Sajedinia revealed in April this year that his department had deployed a total of 7,000 male and female officers as part of the plain-clothes division to enforce the government-regulated Islamic dress code. It is believed to have been the largest undercover assignment of such nature in Iran’s history.
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