By Mahak Paliwal
In the recent past, the state of Iran has witnessed immense transgression of its mandatory headscarf decree. As per the data provided by Iranian media, approximately 29 individuals have been arrested by the police officials, which, in turn, have gained adverse criticism from varied activists and human rights group across the nation. The demonstrators attacked government constructions and chanted the slogan “Death to the dictator!”—referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—to exhibit their protest against the current position of women in Iran.
The Girls of Revolution Street protestors’ message plainly emphasised that it is not just the hijab but equality that they seek to achieve under the Iranian law. The Iranian women are forced to abide by inappropriate customs and laws in every part of their life. All the integral decisions of their life pertaining to what they must wear, how they are supposed to dress in public, the course they are eligible to study and the job they are allowed to undertake are strictly overseen.
Suppressing women’s rights
In Iran, several universities have banned women from pursuing specific courses, mostly, the ones relating to technology and engineering. The Civil Code of Islamic Republic of Iran, 1928, under article 1117, provides an Iranian man with the power to ban his wife from working if he believes that it would be “incompatible with the interests of the family or with his or his wife’s dignity”. Further, the women in Iran are not allowed to leave the country without obtaining an expressed permission from their husbands or fathers. The child born to Iranian women and foreign national men are not granted citizenship in Iran. Additionally, the husband is allowed to end the marriage without justifying his decision. Women are often victimised by honour killing and their testimonies seldom hold good.
How the protest unfolded
The revolution in Iran began in 2017 when a young woman namely Vida Movahed, aged 31, stood on a box placed at the Enghelab Street and removed her hijab. Her white headscarf was tied to a stick which she waved like a flag. A morphed picture on social media gave rise to a peace movement. Soon, other Iranian women started sharing their picture with hashtag #girls-enghelab-street on varied social networking sites. In lieu of the same, Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, made a report of the year 2015 public, which demonstrated support of Iranians for making Hijab a matter of choice. “We cannot pick a lifestyle and tell two generations after us to live like that,” Rouhani said. He added, “It is impossible… the views of the young generation about life and the world is different than ours“.
The protest has also started shifting the views of religious establishments. In the opinion of religious establishments, if wearing the headscarf is associated with religious devotion it shall be a matter of choice rather than meaninglessly being imposed upon women. The Iranian social media and messaging applications have been blocked by the government to put a halt to the ongoing protest. President Trump tweeted, “closed down the internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!”
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the prosecutor general of Iran, has described the protest as “childish”, “emotionally charged”, and instigated “from outside the country”. Similarly, Khamenei has contended that the current protest stands initiated by some foreign group. Rouhani, a relative moderator said, “Our great nation has witnessed a number of similar incidents in the past and has comfortably dealt with them. This is nothing.”
Hijab ban 1979
The binding custom of a mandatory headscarf has prevailed in Iran since 1970, after the Iranian revolution and appointment of Ayatollah Khomeini as the chief leader. The custom has since then observed a wide-scale protest. The streets of Tehran were flooded with protestors on March 8, 1979, for upholding their rights. They demanded the freedom to dress the way they like. Approximately 100,000 women marched against the law which mandated wearing a headscarf to cover hair and neck. The determination of women could be traced from the photographs clicked by Hengameh Golestan, the Iranian photographer, which portrayed women with uncovered hair chanting, raising their fists, and shouting slogans.
Fate of women
Considering the international attention, the ongoing protest in Iran can go either of two ways. One, it could result in stabilising the position of women in Iran. Second, it could invite a contradictory element and result in punishment. What needs to be answered is whether the Iranian society is feasible enough to accommodate the protestors’ demand.
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