Conservatives calling for stricter enforcement of Islamic dress codes for women staged a public protest Wednesday in Tehran, the latest hard-line assault on the government of President Hassan Rouhani.
About 500 demonstrators attended the boisterous rally, among them some women wearing head-to-toe black cloaks known as chadors. Many protesters carried placards bearing slogans such as “Obey Allah and his messenger.”
Traffic in the capital was tied up for two hours, drawing the ire of motorists.
“Immorality is so widespread in society, we have to do something before it is too late,” said one participant, Fatemeh, 23, who wore a chador and asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons. “We Muslim women do not feel safe in the public sphere.”
The demonstration, near the Interior Ministry, included many seminary students, clerics and pro-government Basiji militiamen. The marchers said they did not have a permit, typically required by the government. But the demonstrators insisted they did not need one. Police did not appear to bother the marchers.
“We are peaceful demonstrators,” said Ali Fafaei, a broad-shouldered seminarian who was using his mobile device to exchange text messages with colleagues from the nearby Iravani religious school.
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