DUBAI: In what Iranian women's rights activists are calling “abhorrent”, the Iran government is pushing forward with an educational endeavor aimed at teaching toddlers in the country ideas of chastity and the hijab. Islamic dress and notions of chastity are to be taught to toddlers in Iran, as part of a move by the country to instill Islamic teachings into the younger generation, a report published on Wednesday revealed. The governor of Tehran, Morteza Tamadon, has recently stressed the importance of “popularizing" chastity and hijab among Iranians, advising that kindergarteners be taught, “before reaching those in higher education," the Guardian reported. “We cannot expect to see hijab and chastity exist in society without proper cultural work," he said. “Our goal in the social transformation plan devised by the government is institutionalizing chastity and hijab as a natural [demand] in society," he said. Islamist rulers in Iran have recently ordered stricter enforcement measures from the Iranian Moral Police and the Revolutionary Guards. Recently, Iranian police have bolstered the enforcement of modesty laws. Women wearing mandatory headscarves improperly or in “vulgar" dress are usually warned before being fined or detained in police stations. As for a program targeting toddlers, the welfare office of the Iranian city of Qom is reportedly “training 400 experts on hijab and chastity who will be sent to kindergartens across the city," according to the Guardian. The report added that 1,530 kindergartens under the jurisdiction of a north-eastern province have already held “chastity and hijab exhibitions" in recent months. “Research has found that indirect methods have more effect on kids," welfare officer Tahereh Bakhtiyari said in comments to the newspaper. “Using art expression is one of these methods." BN
