Iran Holocaust
Institution · Gasht-e Ershad · 1979–present

The Morality Police.

Iran's Guidance Patrol (Gasht-e Ershad) — commonly called the "morality police" — is the uniformed force responsible for enforcing the Islamic Republic's compulsory dress code on women in public. Its officers detained Mahsa Amini hours before her death; in 2024 the government reactivated the patrols as part of the Noor ("Light") Plan.

What is Iran's morality police?

The Guidance Patrol (Persian: Gasht-e Ershad, گشت ارشاد) is a specialised unit of the FARAJA national police, created in 2005 under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Its formal mission is to enforce the Islamic Republic's interpretation of "public chastity" — overwhelmingly directed at women's clothing, hair, and conduct in public spaces.

Where does the morality police come from?

Compulsory veiling was imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini's decree in March 1979 and codified in 1983. From 1979 to 1992 enforcement was carried out by the Komiteh (Revolutionary Committees) and the Basij. The Guidance Patrol replaced earlier "Chastity Patrols" in 2005 to provide a more visible, uniformed presence with marked vans.

How does the morality police operate?

Patrols of two to four officers — typically one woman in chador, two men — operate from white-and-green vans at metro entrances, parks, malls and university gates. Women judged to be in violation are warned, photographed, and often forced into the van to a "Vozara"-style detention centre for "re-education" briefings, fines, or transfer to court.

Did the morality police kill Mahsa Amini?

On 13 September 2022 a Guidance Patrol unit detained Mahsa (Jina) Amini, 22, at Haqqani Metro Station in Tehran. Within two hours she collapsed at the Vozara detention facility with signs of severe head trauma; she died on 16 September. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran concluded in 2024 that her death was the result of "physical violence" by state agents.

Was the morality police really suspended in 2022?

In December 2022, at the peak of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, Iran's prosecutor-general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said the Guidance Patrol had been "shut down". The Interior Ministry never confirmed this, no official decree was issued, and patrols were observed in Tehran and other cities within weeks. The "suspension" was disinformation aimed at international audiences.

What is the 2024 Noor Plan?

On 13 April 2024, FARAJA announced the Noor ("Light") Plan, an intensified nationwide crackdown on hijab non-compliance. Within weeks, hundreds of women were arrested, businesses were sealed for serving unveiled customers, and at least one woman — Arezou Badri — was shot and paralysed by police gunfire in Mazandaran when she refused to stop her car. The Noor Plan continues as of 2026.

Other named victims

  • Armita Geravand, 16 — collapsed on 1 October 2023 after an encounter with hijab enforcers on the Tehran Metro; died 28 October 2023.
  • Arezou Badri, 31 — shot in the lung and spine by FARAJA officers in July 2024 in Nour, Mazandaran; left paraplegic.
  • Roya Heshmati — sentenced to 74 lashes in January 2024 for posting an unveiled photo online; sentence carried out.