Iran Using Drone, Facial Recognition Software and App to Monitor Women Without Hijab: UN Report

Women protesting against Hijab in Iran

Photo : AP

Through this app, anyone from the general public can report on uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars and taxis, the report added.

The UN investigators stated how Iran is increasingly relying on electronic surveillance including “aerial drone surveillance” to monitor women in public places. It added that at Tehran’s Amirkabir University, authorities have installed facial recognition software at the entrance gate to find women not wearing the hijab.

Despite a threat of arrest, jail and death, protests against Iran’s present regime continue to take place in different parts of the country. “Two and a half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, in law and in practice, that permeates all aspects of their lives, particularly with respect to the enforcement of the mandatory hijab,” the report said.

“The state is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility,” they added, as per AP.

As of now, Iran’s mission to the UN in New York has now reacted to the findings of the 20-page report.

How Are These Surveillance Working?

The report of the UN team stated that there are surveillance cameras on Iran’s major roadways that are also believed to be involved in searching for uncovered women.

Through the mobile app, the report mentioned, users can add the location, date, time and license plate number of the vehicle in which the alleged mandatory hijab infraction occurred.

The app then flags the vehicle online, alerting the police, it added. “It then triggers a text message (in real-time) to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them that they had been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws, and that their vehicles would be impounded for ignoring these warnings,” the report further said.