TEHRAN
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani argued on Sunday that repressive measures in the country had proved counter-productive.
During his address to a crowd in the capital Mashhad of Razavi Khorasan Province, Rouhani namely criticized Iranian repressive measures such as the obligation for women to wear a headscarf as well as the bans on Internet use.
"We have experienced so far that social values and the wearing of the headscarf cannot be upheld by soldiers and police officers," said the Iranian president.
Insisting that social ethical rules should primarily be taught through education and be later guaranteed by laws, the Iranian president said problems could not be solved with bans. He recommended that scholars, intellectuals and university teachers be the ones to guide citizens instead of the security forces. Islamic law, in force in the country since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, stipulates that a woman's head and neck be covered by a hijab.
Rouhani also said he would continue his efforts to fight corruption without fearing any person or authority.
"The state should use all means of technology in fighting corruption," added Rouhani.
A politically moderate president, elected in 2013, Rouhani, boosts personal freedom and free access to information as well as improving women's rights in his country. He is viewed as a reformist who has also improved Iran's diplomatic relations with other countries, including the United States.
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