Movement Against Compulsory Hijab Law Gains Momentum in Iran

The four-decade-old movement against the compulsory hijab law in Iran has gained movement in Iran as many women have hit the streets removing their headscarf. The defiance in recent days has led to the arrests of around 29 protesters, according to police sources.

The recent protests were inspired by a video of Vida Mohaved, in which the 31-year-old, during a demonstration at the Tehran Square in late December, had removed her headscarf and waved it at the end of a pole. Her defiance to the 1979 hijab law came amidst massive protests against the conservative and neoliberal policies in the country.

Mohaved was held and later released and is now known as the “Girl of Enghelab Street” – referring to the name of the street where she had removed her headscarf.

Soheila Jaloodarzadeh, a female member of the Iranian Parliament, said: "When we restrict women and put them under unnecessary pressure, exactly this is the reason for rebellions."

"This is the reason... the daughters of Revolution Street are putting their headscarves on a stick," she added.

Photos and videos of hundreds of women removing their headscarf and waving it as resistance have been making the rounds on social media over the past month. The women have taken action in protest of the country’s strict adherence to the Islamic code, which requires women to cover their heads, arms and legs in public.

The violation of this compulsory hijab law in Iran can attract fine and up to two months in jail.

Meanwhile, Tehran police, who have been making the arrests, said that the protests are influenced by foreign elements and accused the US-based activist Masih Alinejad of instigating the protests. Alinejad said, “the movement started inside Iran. It has nothing to do with forces outside of Iran."

She further added that the ‘White Wednesday’ movement against headscarf "is a campaign that's been going on for years and years. The women of Iran have long been ignored. We're just giving them a platform."

The enforcement of the law requiring hijabs has relaxed slightly under President Hassan Rouhani’s administration, and last month the police said that women who do not observe the law will be sent to ‘correction centres’ and not to detention centres.