Iranian Women Let Down their Hair: Protests in the Middle East

From this BuzzFeed article, http://www.buzzfeed.com/alivelez/brave-iranian-women-are-showing-off-their-hair-in-protest?bffbvid&utm_term=4ldqpj5#.wuvyp9Av0, many women from Iran can be seen showing off their hair without a mandatory covering to hide it. The regulation of wearing a Hijab as a necessary article of clothing began as early as 1979 and is an act that comes with some pretty strict consequences. A force known as the morality police have the ability to fine and arrest women in Iran for not wearing the Hijab.

This article talks about the support from many different people. For one there is a journalist, Masih Alinejad, who advocates for religious freedom and women’s rights. She is documenting the movement and receiving most of the pictures of young and old women alike sending in pictures. She runs a Facebook group titled “My Secret Freedom” which has over 800,000 followers and countless stories and pictures to share. These women are receiving support from those who wish not to wear the hijab, those who do, husbands, fathers, brothers, and so many more groups of people.

These women want one simple thing, the freedom to chose how they represent themselves and their religion. The article here has some more links to both Facebook pages, organization pages, and other sites of interest towards this project.

–Shauna Soule