Iran Using ‘Nazer’ App to Track Women Without Hijab—How Does It Work?- wna24
Iran Using ‘Nazer’ App to Track Women Without Hijab. How Does it Work? | Image:
AP
Iran has intensified its surveillance efforts, employing drones, facial recognition systems, and the ‘Nazer’ app to track women defying mandatory hijab laws.
According to a United Nations report, Iran is increasingly relying on technology to monitor and punish women.
What Is the ‘Nazer’ App?
The ‘Nazer’ app is a government-backed tool that allows citizens and police to report women for alleged violations of hijab laws. The report was published by investigators who conducted a two-year fact-finding mission in Iran.
The app allows the public to report uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars, and taxis.
It allows users to upload a vehicle’s license plate, location, and time if a woman inside is not wearing a hijab. After this, the app flags the vehicle online and alerts the police.
Once a report is made, it triggers a real-time text message to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them that they have been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws, and that their vehicle will be impounded if they continue to ignore these warnings.
According to the report, a real-time text message is then sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them of the violation and that their vehicle will be impounded if the warnings are ignored.
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Associated Press stated, these messages have serious consequences.
For instance, in July 2024, police officers shot and paralyzed a woman who activists say had received such a message and was fleeing a checkpoint near the Caspian Sea.
The report also noted that 8,000 vehicles were confiscated because their drivers weren’t adhering to the hijab law.
Additionally, aerial drones have been deployed in the capital, Tehran, to enforce dress codes.
At Tehran’s Amirkabir University, authorities installed facial recognition software at entry gates to spot uncovered women, the report said.
The UN report condemns these actions for violations against women.
It further criticized Iran for continuing the crackdown even after more than 500 people were killed in protests in 2022, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini died after her arrest by the country’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab.