The metro is considered one of the public transportation vehicles that is used by students, workers, and employees for commuting within the city.

It can be said that this means of public transportation, which has become a staple in Iran due to the presence of street vendors, has often been the subject of various news headlines and has attracted attention due to some incidents that sometimes occur on it.

The arrest of a well-known drug dealer in the Tehran metro, the death of a female student before entering the train carriage, incidents that occurred as a result of escalator malfunctions, and some disputes among people that are sometimes family-related and sometimes take on a political tone and end in physical or verbal fights, create a series of events underground. These incidents sometimes cause such chaos that they also affect the world above the metro.

Beijing.‌

Urbanization in Tehran cities.

The recent event that caused the metro to be recognized as more than just a means of public transportation was the release of a video from a monitor in the Mashhad metro, which displayed citizens’ information through CCTV cameras and facial recognition. This incident was met with negative reactions from citizens, and as a result, the Mashhad municipality announced in their initial position: “The installation of these cameras and monitors has begun in order to enhance security in Mashhad; considering the terrorist incidents in some cities of the country, this can help establish security in important areas of the city.”

Some believe that the purpose behind publishing this video is to demonstrate the capability of “electronic hijab” in order to combat the social-protest phenomenon of “unveiling.”

The story of the cameras that have been placed under a microscope in the underground city of the metro is not limited to what recently happened with the release of the video of the Mashhad city train monitor. These days, digital camera devices – whether in large numbers in the metro or voluntarily in the hands of the hijab-wearing forces – have become a tool for violating the privacy of citizens and benefiting a group of women in society who constantly have to worry about someone holding a camera or installing one in the metro to capture their image. This concern is exacerbated by the fact that on one hand, there is talk of financial penalties for individuals who are identified with cameras, and on the other hand, the Minister of the Interior claims that the hijab-wearing forces do not need a permit. Therefore, when we enter the metro theater around 5-7 pm and encounter individuals who are sometimes stationed behind cameras and recording the images of citizens, we are faced with the question of why someone should exert power

On the other hand, this method of surveillance strengthens the hypothesis for implementing the “Safe Cities” model, which the Chinese government has implemented. The visual technologies of China are able to identify individuals among the population, even at night, and the government can use the capabilities of these Chinese technologies for more control and bring different cities closer to the “Safe Cities” model, which Beijing has implemented; a city where the circle of privacy becomes smaller and smaller.

Some points about cameras.‌

CCTV cameras in subways.

These days, cameras have become such valuable tools that when we walk from Sadeghiyeh metro station, we can see four different types of CCTV cameras in a twenty-step path. Some of them belong to a micro software production company, whose employees confirm that they have recently sold new CCTV cameras to the Tehran metro operating company. The logo of this company on the CCTV cameras inside the metro is also proof of this story.

Another case is the existence of closed-circuit television cameras belonging to a multinational company called Hikvision, which has its production line in China and has had representation in Iran since 2014. However, due to the issue of Uyghurs, its sales offices have been mostly sanctioned by the United States today. Public documents show that in the past 19 years, Iran has hosted at least eight sanctioned Chinese companies that sell technology for controlling and exerting power over citizens through CCTV cameras, and the mentioned company is only one of these companies.

The cameras of this company have various models that are capable of intelligent video analysis and may be equipped with an authentication system, but verifying or rejecting it requires access to all relevant information about the CCTV camera model. Some websites provide information that shows the use of CCTV cameras supported by Beijing has increased since the beginning of protests in Iran last year. The brand of the newly installed cameras in the metro, which are mostly Chinese, may confirm this.

One of the metro employees, who does not want their name and position to be revealed, says while pointing to the increasing number of metro cameras: “There are some cameras inside the metro that have been installed by the Ministry of Intelligence. Even we do not know which camera it could be and we have no information about it.”

He also confirms that he has heard that the metro cameras have the ability to match people’s faces with their identity information.

Although installing surveillance cameras in crowded places such as subways can be considered an advantage in monitoring the behavior of employees and the safety of passengers from a general perspective, this excessive form of surveillance has put the behavior of citizens, social existence of people, and especially women under influence and creates the assumption that with these surveillance measures, women will be trapped in a place where their safe urban space will be dragged into this swamp and their acceptance will be constantly monitored through various forms of advertising in the city space, as well as cameras that constantly watch over them.

Advertising in public spaces excludes a group of women and phrases like “Don’t hold those who don’t believe in Islam and the system accountable” drag them into a swamp, causing them to constantly ask themselves: Where is my social place as a woman in this city?

You are the women under the shadow of the camera.‌

Ha and Hijab.‌

Banana.

Two girls born in the years 82 and 83, standing near Enghelab metro station and drinking coffee, although they only refer to the cameras inside their university that monitor students, narrate their personal experience of encountering the hijab in the metro as follows: “Even when we wear hats in the metro, they tell us it’s not a hijab. Once when I had a hat on, they told me to put on a veil even though my hair was not visible.”

These two girls only describe parks as a place of freedom for themselves: “We don’t have freedom and privacy on the streets because self-appointed forces stop us and give us bad looks.”

Another woman who is a teacher tells her personal story about encounters regarding hijab as follows: “One day, as I was returning home from work in Shoush Square, a hijab enforcer stopped me in the metro and told me to cover my head, but I refused.”

He continues his story and says, “The guard said if I see you here again, even if you cry, I won’t show you any mercy.”

In the end, the presence of numerous surveillance cameras in the metro, although indicative of the expansion of modern cities and perhaps a movement towards a post-urban society with the argument that people have become more mobile than before, this progress is accompanied by a hidden social tension that is evident in the social and cultural divide among people as a prominent feature.

Perhaps it would be better to conclude the report with this question:

Could the new surveillance measures in the metro, through CCTV cameras and undercover agents who are said to not require permission, potentially lead people towards a dystopian war-like situation in a place where a wave of anonymous crowds exist in their solitude?