Hijab in Iran: Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t

By Osamah Golpy


Here is the first post from a popular social media page named My Stealthy Freedom: “Compulsory Hijab isn’t only because of the morality police; compulsory Hijab is sometimes for the family, for the job, or sometimes for the concern of being judged by others. I myself have experienced all of these, but I bet that the majority of those women who refuse being forced have tasted the stealthy freedom.”

This is a page and hashtag on social networks, mainly on Facebook. It was initiated by the London based activist Masih Alinejad, who urges Iranian women to let some fresh air wind their hair, something she calls the right and dream of Iranian women.

A general definition describes hijab as a veil that covers the head and chest of female Muslims in the presence of males outside their immediate relatives. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution of Iran, women are required to wear hijab in public. However, in practice, if one walks the urban areas like the capital Tehran, known for modernity, many women wear the headscarf round their necks and a small part of their hair. The practice is smoothly in violation of Iran’s Islamic rules, yet one can also see the morality police sometimes ignoring this reality on purpose, maybe to avoid confrontation with the will of the majority.

The situation is different outside the capital, mostly in the rural areas. There, the role of the police is less relevant, knowing that society is keen on “respecting” the Islamic laws. The state, the police and the rules are the same, but the applications and the implications vary on the ground as demography requires.

Damned if you don’t

Golshifteh Farahani, an Iranian actress who fled the country to take roles in movies where she played intimate scenes, has recently published a video in which she appears half-naked. There are also dozens of movies produced inside Iran in which she wore hijab! Having seen this contradiction, one can see no point why the Iranian regime wants the people to wear or act the way they want, not what the people themselves would like to. Even the actresses are no exception. Living in neighboring Iraq, I see lots of Iranians who get rid of their headscarves and start drinking alcohol once they step in my home country. For them, freedom is what one chooses to do, to not wear or to drink.

Damned if You Do

Almost two years ago, I was on a visit to Zanjan province, the town of Sultanieh, northwest of the country. There, I heard a man who said a lady from her town left the university because she was bullied by her classmates for wearing Islamic clothes. She was perceived as belonging to the dark ages! My experience in Iran shows that you see the discrimination from both camps: For some, wearing hijab shows how backward you are, and for the rest not wearing, say a headscarf, proves how immoral you are, almost a prostitute.

Hijab Chain

“I just want to breathe! That's all!” wrote a woman who had the courage to remove the headscarf and post a photo of herself on #MyStealthyFreedom Page. “One thing I know is that I haven't ever been able to get used to wearing a scarf. It has always felt like a chain around my neck trying to choke me. I like to unchain myself and breathe the way I please,” she said.

Others felt more reluctant: A woman with hijab who preferred to hide her face behind a white board for fear of being bullied from both sides wrote: “I believe in hijab, and I disguise FORCED hijab in the same magnitude.” Her photo is also posted on the page.

Compulsory Discard Hijab

For much of its (Islamic) history, hijab has always been part of Iranian culture. However, being astonished by the reforms of Amanullah Khan, then sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, then president of Turkey, the Shah of Iran Reza Shah passed a law on 8 January 1936 which forced women to discard the hijab. The law was no longer enforced when he was forced to abdicate power to his son in 1941.

Past and Present Iran

The My Stealthy Freedom campaign has definitely different demands. The majority, though, demand the freedom of choice, whether they would like to wear hijab or discard it. If there is only one common ground between the old Iran and the current regime, it would be the word “forced.” The campaign has been successful in raising debate on the topic, mainly outside the country. However, there is a long way before it makes its way into the state mainstream media and the parliament -- if ever!