Iran moves to enforce stringent dress code

TEHRAN – Iran has enforced a stricter Islamic dress code at a number of universities including a ban on female students wearing…

TEHRAN – Iran has enforced a stricter Islamic dress code at a number of universities including a ban on female students wearing bright clothes and having long nails or tattoos, a local news agency reported yesterday.

The semi-official Fars news agency published a list of universities around Iran that were given a note outlining the code but did not say on what basis they were selected.

The new rules ban women from “wearing caps or hats without scarves, tight and short jeans, and body piercing”, except earrings, Fars said.

It said tattoos, long nails, tooth gems, tight overcoats and bright clothes were also banned.

Iran has been waging a country-wide campaign against western cultural influences. Under Islamic law imposed after the 1979 revolution, women have to cover their hair in public and wear long, loose-fitting clothes.

The new code also bans male students from dying their hair, plucking eyebrows, wearing tight clothes, shirts with “very short sleeves” and jewellery, Fars said. – (Reuters)

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