Tehran, Apr 11 (IANS): Hijab enforcement groups will be set up on the Tehran Metro and those not wearing hijab will be refused entry, in effect banning some women from work, as per Iranian state TV, a media report said.

The move appears to be part of a pattern of government efforts to force Iranian public bodies to take greater responsibility for enforcing the hijab, The Guardian reported.

Many Iranian women, especially in urban centres, have refused to comply with the hijab rule, in a sign that the "women, life, freedom" protests that began in September last year continue in a more individualised form, the report said.

The latest threatening clampdown comes as girls in secondary schools in Tehran, Karaj and other cities continue to report poison attacks. At least nine schools were reported to have been attacked on Sunday. According to Iranian MP Mohammad Hassan Asefari, a government fact-finding committee said the security agencies had been unable to identify the perpetrators, while the Ministry of Health is yet to determine the nature of the poison being used.

The contrast between the urgency of the efforts to enforce the hijab and the inability of the investigators to use CCTV to identify those behind the poison attacks has infuriated opponents of the government.

The Tehran Metro Company had already announced that "in line with the demands of the noble people of Iran on the issue of hijab", it was launching a verbal reminder project in Tehran and suburban Metro stations. But the latest pictures on Iran state TV show Metro staff barring women trying to pass through the ticket barrier without a hijab, The Guardian reported.

Masoud Darshti, the Chief Executive of Tehran and Suburbs Metro Operation Company, had announced the establishment of a chastity and hijab headquarters to issue reminders. He said his staff would be required to implement any police order, but added that he had not yet personally received the instruction formally.