Of the 195 countries in the world, 57 are Muslim-majority. Of these, Sharia law is strictly followed in 8. But there are only 2 countries where it is mandatory for women to wear hijab when they leave the house.
These two countries are Shia-dominated Iran and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. In Iran, severe punishment is given for breaking this law of a woman.
He can be punished with 74 whips (whips) to 16 years in jail. Despite such strictness, 72 per cent of Iran’s population is against making the hijab mandatory.
By the way, the controversy regarding the hijab in Iran is not a new thing. This trend has been going on for almost a decade. But this time the death of 22-year-old Mehsa Amini in police custody has further instigated the ‘Anti Hijab’ movement.
Amini was arrested for roaming the capital Tehran without a hijab. She went into a coma shortly after her arrest and died in police custody three days later (September 16).
Now women are running anti-hijab campaigns everywhere in Iran. At any intersection of the city, crowds of women gather and protest is registered by taking off the hijab in a mass. In a fundamentalist country like Iran, bypassing the dreadful punishment, women are protesting on the streets for their rights.
Iran was not like this four decades ago
Iran was not like this until 43 years ago. Due to the dominance of Western civilization, there was openness here. There was no restriction regarding the dress. Women could come and go anywhere wearing anything. 1979 brought the era of the Islamic revolution for Iran.
Religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini took the reins of power by removing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and implementing Sharia law across the country.
When did the protests against Hijab start?
Sporadic protests started in Iran as soon as the hijab became mandatory, but this movement got its real wind in 2014. In fact, Iranian political journalist Masih Alinejad posted a photo of himself on Facebook while walking in the streets of London.
Hundreds of Iranian women commented on Alinejad’s photo. Impressed by this, he posted another photo. This photo was from when Masih Alinejad was in Iran. Even in this, she was not wearing a hijab. Iranian women also started sending their photos without hijab and thus a movement was born. Alinejad now lives in America.
In 2014, a Facebook page called My Stealthy Freedom was created to protest against the hijab. The women gathered through this page took many initiatives on social media like ‘My Forbidden Voice’, Men in Hijab, and My Camera is My Weapon. The White Wednesday campaign was launched in May 2017.
The women involved in this campaign protested against the hijab by wearing white clothes. Today, about 7 million people from all over the world are associated with this campaign. Of these 7 million, 80 per cent are from Iran.
Iranian people are against hijab
In view of the continuing strictness in Iran regarding the hijab, AMMAR MALEKI, Assistant Professor of Tilburg University in the Netherlands, conducted a survey in 2020.
50 thousand people of Iranian origin became part of this survey. The results of this survey, which lasted for 15 days, surprised everyone. The results found that 72 per cent of Iran’s population is against making the hijab mandatory.
By the way, many female activists are fighting for the rights of Iran’s women by putting their lives at risk. But the name Elnaz Sarbar is at the forefront of this list. Elnaaz is also associated with the ‘My Stealthy Freedom’ campaign. Elnaz says, ‘I was born after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Since childhood, I have seen the tradition of the hijab.
No woman gets entry into school or office without a hijab. In Iran, the punishment for not wearing a hijab in a public place is 74 lashes. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Muslim or belong to any other religion. The same rules apply to tourists as well.
- On 12 July 2022, Iranian actress Roshni was arrested for not wearing a hijab. She was tortured for several days and apologized on National TV.
- On March 8, 2018, in the capital Tehran, a woman protested against the compulsory hijab and took off her hijab and hung it with the help of a stick. The woman was sentenced to 2 years. He didn’t even get parole for 3 months.
- On 2 February 2018, the Iranian police arrested 29 women roaming in public places without hijabs. Iranian police called it part of propaganda by Iranians living abroad.
