Iranian women threw off the hijab - what happened next?
MASIH ALINEJAD
It is five years since Iranian Masih Alinejad started a movement - since joined by thousands of women - protesting against the compulsory wearing of the hijab, or headscarf, in her country. It spread on social media and led to unprecedented demonstrations in the streets - but is it any closer to achieving its goal?
It began with a seemingly innocuous event: a woman driving on a mountain road in Iran, enjoying the simple freedom of feeling the wind in her hair.
It is a freedom most women take for granted, but one that Iranian women have been denied since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Masih Alinejad captured this moment in a photograph and five years ago posted it on social media.
She then encouraged other women to also share their secret moments of freedom. As a result she was "bombarded" by pictures from women all over the country.
That was the beginning of my #MyStealthyFreedom, a social media movement opposed to the mandatory headscarf.
MY STEALTHY FREEDOM
It has since spawned other hashtag movements: from #whitewednesdays, to #girlsofenghelabstreet to #mycameraismyweapon.
Masih has more than 2.5 million followers and has become a force for the Iranian government to reckon with.
No comments:
Post a Comment