President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political opponents started attacking his views on Iran's Islamic dress code in 2010.

Story highlights

In parliament, hard-line lawmaker says Iranian president's stand on dress code is too lax

Ahmadinejad critic says such laxity is to blame for women wearing provocative clothing

Code requires women to cover their hair and bodies

But many push the envelope with tight clothes and head scarves that barely cover hair

CNN  — 

A hard-line Iranian lawmaker has mockingly suggested that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad open up a nightclub, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

Lawmaker Ali Motaheri took the sarcastic poke at Ahmadinejad during a speech to parliament where he said the president’s soft stance on Iran’s Islamic dress code was to blame for an increase in young Iranian women wearing sexually provocative clothing, Fars News reported.

Motaheri has long been a fierce critic of Ahmadinejad.

“The state of the dress code today has created addictions in society, so Ahmadinejad should think about starting a nightclub or a cabaret,” Fars News quoted Motaheri as saying.

Iran’s dress code requires women to cover their hair and bodies, but many push the envelope with tight clothes and head scarves that barely cover their hair.

Often, the result is a cat-and-mouse game between young, defiant women who want to wear what they choose and Iran’s morality police, who patrol the streets on foot and marked cars to enforce the code.

Ahmadinejad’s hard-line political opponents started attacking the president about his views on the dress code in 2010 after he criticized morality police for taking excessive measures against alleged offenders.

Journalist Farbod Jamali contributed to this report.