<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Iranian police are resuming controversial patrols to ensure women obey dress codes and cover their hair in public, state media reports.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The "morality police" will return to the streets to enforce Iran's hijab laws, a spokesman said on Sunday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It comes 10 months after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly breaking the dress code.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Her death triggered massive national protests and the patrols were paused.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Islamic hardliners have been demanding that the patrols be resumed for some time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under Iranian law, which is based on the country's interpretation of Sharia, women must cover their hair with a hijab (headscarf) and wear long, loose-fitting clothing to disguise their figures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The morality police unit is tasked with ensuring those rules are respected, and detaining people who are perceived to be "improperly" dressed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the patrols, officers will first warn women who are not complying with the rules, police spokesman Saeed Montazerolmahdi said, as quoted by hardline Tasnim news agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If they disobey orders, police may then opt for "legal action", he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mahsa Amini, 22, was visiting the capital Tehran with her family last September when she was arrested by morality police and accused of wearing her hijab "improperly".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated". At the time, there were reports that officers beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It enraged millions of Iranians - leading to months of violent anti-government protests across the country, that saw nearly 600 protesters killed, including several state executions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the months following the protests, many women stopped wearing hijabs altogether. It was the biggest outright challenge to the rule of the clerics in Iran since the 1979 revolution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Videos posted on social media suggest that, until recently, the sight of women not wearing hijabs was becoming more commonplace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in turn, the Iranian authorities brought in stiffer punishments, including forcing businesses to close if they did not comply with the hijab laws.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the protests drew out huge numbers of Iranians, some people still staunchly support the strict dress code.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this year, a video emerged showing a man throwing a tub of yoghurt in the face of two unveiled women. His action was met with outrage by male and female bystanders, and he was later arrested - but so were the women.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran has had various forms of "morality police" since the revolution. This latest version, known formally as the Guidance Patrol (Gasht-e Ershad), began their patrols in 2006.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is unclear how many men and women work for the force, but they have access to weapons and detention centres, as well as what are called "re-education centres".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In response to Iran's violent crackdown on protesters, the UK and other Western countries imposed sanctions on the morality police and other top security figures last year. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>