Why Is Iranian Women are protesting against Hijab?

Edited By:- Vikas Mavi

The fire of rebellion spread in Iran when a young woman named Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the “morality police”, died due to injuries inflicted on her in custody. The news spread like fire and soon became a country-wide protest in the country and outside. In which Iranian women publicly removed and burned their hijabs. Ms. Amini was detained for “improperly” wearing the hijab because her hair was not completely covered. According to Reuters, she died on Friday after falling into a coma following her arrest in Tehran earlier this week. This incident has turned global attention to women’s rights in Iran. Police denied on social media that she was beaten, saying she got ill while waiting with other detained women.

Shaved heads and burned hijabs

On one hand, Iran, known as the Major Centre of Islamic Culture and Learning, has become a witness to the Iranian women’s protest to ban Hijab. On the other, India’s courts are still debating the freedom of choice in school uniforms. Well, a number of videos from the protests that show demonstrators shouting anti-government slogans have gone viral on social media. Iranian forces are seen using tear gas to disperse demonstrators in some videos. Some female protesters cut their hair and burned their hijabs as a symbolic act of defiance against the harsh Iranian rule requiring women over the age of seven to wear religious headscarves.

An Iranian Journalist, Video tweet

If we look back in time, we can see that a protest happened in India over the issue of hijab ban. However, the protesters’ views were completely contradictory to those of the Iranian protesters. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist, tweeted a video with the caption, “Iranian women show their anger by cutting their hair and burning their hijab to protest the killing of # Mahsa_Amini by hijab police.” She also said, “From the age of 7, if we don’t cover our hair, we won’t be able to go to school or get a job. We are fed up with this gender apartheid regime.”