Big Brother Taliban Nazis
Businesses in Iran Now Required to Link CCTV to Police for Hijab Enforcement
The Islamic Republic's authorities have launched a system to connect business CCTV cameras to the police to crack down on women defying the requirement to wear a headscarf.
The launch of this system has raised questions and concerns about its functionality and how officers will use it.
The term "surveillance cameras" has frequently been mentioned by the police and officials of the Islamic Republic over the past two years in discussions about actions against those defying the mandatory hijab.
Now, according to Mahdi Omidvar, the spokesperson for the Iran Chamber of Guilds, a system has been launched to integrate and connect the surveillance cameras of business units to the police.
Following the nationwide protests in 2022 and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the police and security agencies used all available surveillance tools to identify protesters and target women who refused to comply with the mandatory hijab.
On the one hand, the police shut down businesses where women without hijabs had been reported. On the other hand, they proposed multiple ideas about using city cameras to target women who opposed the hijab.
In March 2023, the head of Tehran's Traffic Police announced that surveillance cameras would not only capture traffic violations but also record women defying the mandatory hijab.
Around the same time, Ahmadreza Radan, the police commander, stated that the police would use smart technology to confront those appearing without a hijab in commercial spaces, streets, and cars. Since then, SMS notifications regarding non-compliance with hijab rules in cars have been sent to vehicle owners, and the Ebrahim Raisi government approved a budget to increase the number of surveillance cameras.
In parallel with the police's actions against women opposing the mandatory hijab, the Hijab and Chastity Bill, after two years of deliberation between Parliament, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Discernment Council, was finally approved by the Guardian Council and is now ready for government implementation.
According to Article 28 of this bill, the Islamic Republic's police force is required to "create and strengthen smart systems" using "tools such as mobile and fixed cameras and artificial intelligence" to identify individuals violating hijab and chastity laws.
Both the police’s behavior and statements by their commanders, as well as the inclusion of this article in the Hijab and Chastity Bill, suggest that one of the main objectives of the system integrating business surveillance cameras could be to target protesters and opponents of the mandatory hijab.
The system, which the spokesperson for the Iran Chamber of Guilds described as a supervisory entity for the quality of protective cameras in business units, was created in cooperation with the National Licensing Portal and the police.
According to Mahdi Omidvar, 39 unions, including jewelers and restaurants, will now be linked to the police system, which will inform them about the technical specifications of the required cameras. He explained that by installing these cameras, in the event of any incident or crime in business units and public places, the police can review the information and follow up.
Mahdi Sarmeifar, a science and technology journalist, told IranWire that business units, ranging from supermarkets to restaurants and jewelry shops, must first obtain specific cameras approved by the police and install them at their workplaces.
He added that during installation, a police technician connects the system to the police’s cloud storage network. This allows the police to view footage remotely via the cloud instead of visiting the location and manually retrieving video footage if a complaint or legal case requires reviewing an incident.
Although the police claim that installing surveillance cameras in business units and public places enhances public safety, public reactions and the police's actions suggest that their definition of security often differs from the public's.
In recent years, many women, through their civil resistance to the mandatory hijab, have demonstrated their rejection of the government’s insistence on the legality of hijab, viewing it as unrelated to public safety. However, the police and other government agencies continue to emphasize the use of all available resources, including surveillance in medical and educational facilities, to enforce the hijab mandate.
Moreover, evidence shows that the police and judiciary only use surveillance footage when it serves the interests of the Islamic Republic.
Marzieh Mohebi, a lawyer, told IranWire that the requirement for business units to provide a certificate of surveillance camera installation, linking them to the police’s electronic systems, effectively places every business under security forces' watch.
She said: "If we look at the short history of surveillance camera usage, in at least four cases - the deaths of Mahsa Amini, Armita Garawand, the accusations against Navid Afkari, and the murder of Dariush Mehrjui - the police, under various pretexts, refrained from accessing the surveillance footage to investigate the crime. In other words, the claim of public safety regarding the installation of cameras is invalid, and where preserving the regime is at stake, the security of the people holds no value."
According to the Hijab and Chastity Bill, hijab regulations must be enforced not only in businesses but also in parks, tourist centers, historical sites, public transportation, cultural centers, medical facilities, and educational institutions.
Implementing this measure requires government funding for purchasing cameras and equipment, and businesses are obligated to buy and install police-approved cameras. With the government agreeing to fund public surveillance cameras and businesses mandated to comply, there seems to be no barrier to enforcing the hijab law, cracking down on opponents of the mandatory hijab, and even protesters.
Mahdi Sarmeifar told IranWire, "Technically, this system could be part of a larger network for controlling and monitoring citizens. If such a connection is established, it is likely that in the near future, the police’s use of this system will not be limited to legal complaints and court orders. In some areas, particularly in commercial centers and other public spaces that attract large crowds, citizen behavior and attire could be monitored by the police under the pretext of security."
This possibility increases when, under the Hijab and Chastity Bill, even private companies' surveillance cameras must be linked to the police system.
Marzieh Mohebi pointed to other government efforts to monitor citizens, saying, "If we consider attempts such as the approval of a system for monitoring citizens' lifestyles in the Seventh Development Plan, the creation of a nationwide security atmosphere after the Mahsa movement, and the ongoing repression of women defying the hijab in public spaces and courts, it becomes clear that the Islamic Republic, in fear of collapse, is attempting to securitize the environment and establish extensive control mechanisms over the people."
She added that the government's goal in creating integrated surveillance camera systems connected to the police is to expand its reach into every aspect of citizens' lives, instil a sense of helplessness, and spread despair among activists.
Elly Khorsandfar, a sociologist, views these surveillance measures as a form of hidden repression. She told IranWire, "The Islamic Republic, being an ideological government, has designed its policies and decisions from the very beginning based on control over various aspects of citizens' private and public lives."
According to her, when such a government faces a crisis, it tries to maintain control over the population through both overt and covert repression. This is especially true given that the Islamic Republic has not enjoyed the majority's support for some time, relying on repression and similar tactics to keep society in fear and crisis.
Since the early days of civil resistance against the mandatory hijab, security agencies and police officials have claimed progress in using facial recognition technology with the help of artificial intelligence – a claim not taken seriously by IT experts.
Mahdi Sarmeifar, speaking about AI in surveillance systems, told IranWire that while live citizen recognition through city cameras remains cinematic, authoritarian governments have taken steps in this direction. He pointed to advancements made by Chinese companies and noted that the Islamic Republic could expand its cloud storage network through the National Information Network and import AI technologies from its Chinese partners.
The journalist added that with the extensive video data collected on citizens via city and business surveillance cameras, along with other data, the Islamic Republic has the tools to test AI facial recognition technology on Iranians. While there is still a long way to go, the Islamic Republic is showing that it intends to move in this direction with these incremental steps.
iranwire.com
Businesses in Iran Now Required to Link CCTV to Police for Hijab Enforcement
The Islamic Republic's authorities have launched a system to connect business CCTV cameras to the police to crack down on women defying the requirement to wear a headscarf.
The launch of this system has raised questions and concerns about its functionality and how officers will use it.
The term "surveillance cameras" has frequently been mentioned by the police and officials of the Islamic Republic over the past two years in discussions about actions against those defying the mandatory hijab.
Now, according to Mahdi Omidvar, the spokesperson for the Iran Chamber of Guilds, a system has been launched to integrate and connect the surveillance cameras of business units to the police.
Following the nationwide protests in 2022 and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the police and security agencies used all available surveillance tools to identify protesters and target women who refused to comply with the mandatory hijab.
On the one hand, the police shut down businesses where women without hijabs had been reported. On the other hand, they proposed multiple ideas about using city cameras to target women who opposed the hijab.
In March 2023, the head of Tehran's Traffic Police announced that surveillance cameras would not only capture traffic violations but also record women defying the mandatory hijab.
Around the same time, Ahmadreza Radan, the police commander, stated that the police would use smart technology to confront those appearing without a hijab in commercial spaces, streets, and cars. Since then, SMS notifications regarding non-compliance with hijab rules in cars have been sent to vehicle owners, and the Ebrahim Raisi government approved a budget to increase the number of surveillance cameras.
In parallel with the police's actions against women opposing the mandatory hijab, the Hijab and Chastity Bill, after two years of deliberation between Parliament, the Guardian Council, and the Expediency Discernment Council, was finally approved by the Guardian Council and is now ready for government implementation.
According to Article 28 of this bill, the Islamic Republic's police force is required to "create and strengthen smart systems" using "tools such as mobile and fixed cameras and artificial intelligence" to identify individuals violating hijab and chastity laws.
Both the police’s behavior and statements by their commanders, as well as the inclusion of this article in the Hijab and Chastity Bill, suggest that one of the main objectives of the system integrating business surveillance cameras could be to target protesters and opponents of the mandatory hijab.
The system, which the spokesperson for the Iran Chamber of Guilds described as a supervisory entity for the quality of protective cameras in business units, was created in cooperation with the National Licensing Portal and the police.
According to Mahdi Omidvar, 39 unions, including jewelers and restaurants, will now be linked to the police system, which will inform them about the technical specifications of the required cameras. He explained that by installing these cameras, in the event of any incident or crime in business units and public places, the police can review the information and follow up.
Mahdi Sarmeifar, a science and technology journalist, told IranWire that business units, ranging from supermarkets to restaurants and jewelry shops, must first obtain specific cameras approved by the police and install them at their workplaces.
He added that during installation, a police technician connects the system to the police’s cloud storage network. This allows the police to view footage remotely via the cloud instead of visiting the location and manually retrieving video footage if a complaint or legal case requires reviewing an incident.
Although the police claim that installing surveillance cameras in business units and public places enhances public safety, public reactions and the police's actions suggest that their definition of security often differs from the public's.
In recent years, many women, through their civil resistance to the mandatory hijab, have demonstrated their rejection of the government’s insistence on the legality of hijab, viewing it as unrelated to public safety. However, the police and other government agencies continue to emphasize the use of all available resources, including surveillance in medical and educational facilities, to enforce the hijab mandate.
Moreover, evidence shows that the police and judiciary only use surveillance footage when it serves the interests of the Islamic Republic.
Marzieh Mohebi, a lawyer, told IranWire that the requirement for business units to provide a certificate of surveillance camera installation, linking them to the police’s electronic systems, effectively places every business under security forces' watch.
She said: "If we look at the short history of surveillance camera usage, in at least four cases - the deaths of Mahsa Amini, Armita Garawand, the accusations against Navid Afkari, and the murder of Dariush Mehrjui - the police, under various pretexts, refrained from accessing the surveillance footage to investigate the crime. In other words, the claim of public safety regarding the installation of cameras is invalid, and where preserving the regime is at stake, the security of the people holds no value."
According to the Hijab and Chastity Bill, hijab regulations must be enforced not only in businesses but also in parks, tourist centers, historical sites, public transportation, cultural centers, medical facilities, and educational institutions.
Implementing this measure requires government funding for purchasing cameras and equipment, and businesses are obligated to buy and install police-approved cameras. With the government agreeing to fund public surveillance cameras and businesses mandated to comply, there seems to be no barrier to enforcing the hijab law, cracking down on opponents of the mandatory hijab, and even protesters.
Mahdi Sarmeifar told IranWire, "Technically, this system could be part of a larger network for controlling and monitoring citizens. If such a connection is established, it is likely that in the near future, the police’s use of this system will not be limited to legal complaints and court orders. In some areas, particularly in commercial centers and other public spaces that attract large crowds, citizen behavior and attire could be monitored by the police under the pretext of security."
This possibility increases when, under the Hijab and Chastity Bill, even private companies' surveillance cameras must be linked to the police system.
Marzieh Mohebi pointed to other government efforts to monitor citizens, saying, "If we consider attempts such as the approval of a system for monitoring citizens' lifestyles in the Seventh Development Plan, the creation of a nationwide security atmosphere after the Mahsa movement, and the ongoing repression of women defying the hijab in public spaces and courts, it becomes clear that the Islamic Republic, in fear of collapse, is attempting to securitize the environment and establish extensive control mechanisms over the people."
She added that the government's goal in creating integrated surveillance camera systems connected to the police is to expand its reach into every aspect of citizens' lives, instil a sense of helplessness, and spread despair among activists.
Elly Khorsandfar, a sociologist, views these surveillance measures as a form of hidden repression. She told IranWire, "The Islamic Republic, being an ideological government, has designed its policies and decisions from the very beginning based on control over various aspects of citizens' private and public lives."
According to her, when such a government faces a crisis, it tries to maintain control over the population through both overt and covert repression. This is especially true given that the Islamic Republic has not enjoyed the majority's support for some time, relying on repression and similar tactics to keep society in fear and crisis.
Since the early days of civil resistance against the mandatory hijab, security agencies and police officials have claimed progress in using facial recognition technology with the help of artificial intelligence – a claim not taken seriously by IT experts.
Mahdi Sarmeifar, speaking about AI in surveillance systems, told IranWire that while live citizen recognition through city cameras remains cinematic, authoritarian governments have taken steps in this direction. He pointed to advancements made by Chinese companies and noted that the Islamic Republic could expand its cloud storage network through the National Information Network and import AI technologies from its Chinese partners.
The journalist added that with the extensive video data collected on citizens via city and business surveillance cameras, along with other data, the Islamic Republic has the tools to test AI facial recognition technology on Iranians. While there is still a long way to go, the Islamic Republic is showing that it intends to move in this direction with these incremental steps.
Businesses in Iran Now Required to Link CCTV to Police for Hijab Enforcement
The Islamic Republic's authorities have launched a system to connect business CCTV cameras to the police to crack down on women defying ...
iranwire.com
