Women in Iran protest without headscarves against law that makes hijab compulsory in public
Authorities arrested a second woman on Monday for protesting with her head uncovered in public, waving her hijab at the end of a stick.
Women in Iran are taking to the streets to oppose the law that makes wearing a hijab compulsory in public places. They have been taking off their veils in public and holding them on the ends of sticks in protest against the law, which was first enacted in 1979.
Though in recent month authorities announced that women will no longer be arrested for not wearing headscarves in public but will be fined instead, they arrested a second woman on Monday for protesting the hijab law. Two others filming her actions were also arrested, according to The Guardian.
People have been sharing images of women standing on top of utility boxes waving their hijabs on sticks with the hashtag #GirlsOfRevolutionSt, as a tribute to 31-year-old Vida Mohaved (pictured above, right), the woman who initiated the protest in Tehran’s Enghelab Street and was arrested for it in December 2017.
Mohaved, who was released on Sunday, made headlines during the agitations against Iran’s deteriorating economy and corruption in the administration, CNN reported. Around 400 people were detained during the protests. Although Mohaved’s defiant act were not directly related to the anti-regime protests, it inspired others to speak out against the oppression and lack of social and political freedom.
In 2016, top chess players had called for a boycott of the World Championships in 2017 in Iran, protesting against the law that makes wearing a hijab mandatory for women in the country.