Iranian women protest 'modesty day' by removing hijabs

Women in Iran are protesting against the mandatory hijab, posting videos of themselves removing their headscarves in protest against the country’s hardline president.  

Activists on Tuesday took to social media to protest the country's National Hijab and Modesty Day, marked on 12 July, and publicly removed their veils, calling for the reversal of mandatory hijab laws.

Wearing the hijab and modest clothing became mandatory for women and girls over the age of 9 in Iran, following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but the implementation of the law depends on the ruling government.

Can you believe that this simple act of protest will land us to jail in Iran?
We have to watch our back when we walk unveiled.
But women of Iran practice their civil disappearance every day until the day that we get rid of gender apartheid. #No2Hijab
pic.twitter.com/5h7IuyNjDH

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 12, 2022

Activists have used the hashtags #No2Hijab in English and a Farsi equivalent which translates to "hijab without hijab."

Hardline President Ebrahim Raisi maintained the importance of the hijab law and branded opposition to it as a systematic promotion of corruption in Islamic society.

Measures in adherence to hijab laws have become stricter. Earlier this month, the deputy prosecutor of Mashhad in northeast Iran banned women from attending offices and banks or using the metro if they do not wear the hijab.

Women have regularly been targeted by the republic's morality police, known as Gasht-e Ershad, for showing hair in public or for "improperly" wearing the hijab.

Today (12 July) I remove my hijab to protest against compulsory hijab which is crime in Iran. Forcing women to wear hijab is not part of Iranian's culture.
It is the culture of Taliban, ISIS and Islamic Republic. Enough is enough.
#No2Hijab#WalkingUnveiled#حجاب_بی_حجاب pic.twitter.com/CDWQ58TYuY

— Nagging Shrew (@Naggingshrew) July 12, 2022

In February, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled that women depicted in cartoons or animated films must wear the hijab.

In 2020, two senior Iranian clerics called on police to "make surroundings unsafe" for women who do not wear the hijab.

Hardline conservative Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabei Nejad decried women who "removed their hijab" as well as those who wore "loose hijab", referring to women who do not fully cover their hair.

He said that authorities had a duty to make "surroundings unsafe" for women falling under both categories, and said police should have "more authority" to deal with them, without specifying details.