Modesty guards or modesty patrols either request or force citizens, mostly women, to dress modestly, depending on the country and the location. The definition of

modesty Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word ''modesty'' comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means 'keeping with ...

is different in each location. In

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

their body and hair has to be covered. Iranian women are also jailed if their clothes are revealing while making a video posted online.

Islamic religious police

Official

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

vice squad police agencies which enforce religious observance and

public morality Public morality refers to moral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media, and to conduct in public places. Public morality often means reg ...

on behalf of national or regional authorities based on its interpretation of

sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

Afghan Taliban

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is the state agency in charge of implementing Islamic law in the

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

as defined by the ruling

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

Iranian

Guidance Patrol (Persian: گشت ارشاد, Gašt-e Eršād) is the main Islamic

religious police Religious police are any Police, police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Mu ...

, or

vice squad Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Bond) was a founding member of the b ...

in the Law Enforcement Force of

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, established in 2005. They impose Islamic dress codes and norms of conduct in public, particularly regarding the

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

of women. The Iranian force has even arrested a number of women over videos that were posted on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. In 2018 they arrested 17-year-old gymnast Maedeh Hojabri, over a video of her dancing. The State TV in Iran aired her forced "confession". In 2016 Tehran's police sent around 7,000 undercover officers to lookout for those who do not follow conservative Islamic modes of dress and behavior. They are called the Gashte Ershad, the "guidance patrol," and they have broad powers to scold and arrest people for failing to meet the modesty test.

Palestinian (Hamas)

The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is a group which is part of the police forces of the

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

' '' de facto'' government in the Palestinian territory of the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

Saudi

The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is a Saudi government religious authority charged with implementing the Islamic doctrine of hisbah.

Israeli

In Haredi communities

In Israel, the term mishmeret tzniyut (Hebrew: משמרת צניעות; also ''tzniyut'' patrol, modesty squad, chastity squad) refers to an unofficial vigilante gang which acts to enforce a code of modesty among the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

(Jewish Ultra-Orthodox) public through violence and intimidation. The conduct of these gangs is illegal under Israeli law. They can be intimidating and even violent. They have torched stores for selling certain electronic equipment. They sometimes hurl stones at women who do not dress according to their strict dress code and have even broken into a woman's house and beat her up, because they did not approve of her behavior. In 2006, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said; "The ''modesty police'' are not organized, just rogue enforcers carrying out isolated attacks." But Israel's Justice Ministry used the term ''modesty patrols'' in an indictment against a man who assaulted a woman in Jerusalem.

Modesty guidelines at government-sponsored events

According to an article in ''The Independent'' in 2016, " Israel's Culture Ministry is to introduce new rules about how modestly performers should dress at government-sponsored events. 'Festivals and events funded by public money will respect the general public, which includes different communities,' a Culture Ministry spokesperson said. The announcement comes after a singer at a government-backed beach concert near

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

said she was ordered off stage for wearing a bikini top."

References

{{reflist Modesty in Judaism Religious law