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Iran Focus
 Tehran, Iran, Jan. 07 – The
government of radical Islamist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to segregate Iran’s pedestrian
walkways on gender basis, according to Fatemeh Alia, a deputy in Iran’s Majlis (Parliament) and one of Ahmadinejad’s
closest allies.
Since Ahmadinejad took office as president, new
measures have been enforced to, in his words, “return the Islamic Republic to
the days of the [1979 Islamic] revolution”.
As part of the government plan called “Increase the hejab
(veil) culture and female chastity”, the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development has received orders to construct separate pedestrian walkways for
men and women, according to Alia.
“This plan is the most advanced and complete plan regarding the hejab. In the next two weeks its final considerations
will be complete and it will start to be implemented”.
Previously, when he was Mayor of Tehran, Ahmadinejad
ordered all the buildings belonging to the municipality to have separate
elevators for men and women.
“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will have an obligation to
construct apartments in a special way … which would be in line with the
culture and atmosphere of an Islamic society. The Ministry of Roads and
Transport must pay special attention to the walkways, roads, railways, and
transportation routes so that we no longer get reports of mal-veiling in
these routes”, the hard-line Majlis deputy said.
Alia added that special provisions also had to be
made for tourists who travel to Iran so that they
also adhere to Islamic regulations.
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