Thousands of Iranian women have been posting photos of themselves taking off their hijab or veil on Facebook ! A massive campaign has been growing up over social media. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist based in London set up the « Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian women » Facebook page on May 3rd, 2014.

By creating this phenomenon, Masih Alinejad wants to show that Iranian women should have the basic right to choose wether they want to wear the veil / hijab or not. She mentioned that she is not opposed to it as her own mother is veiled. She wore it herself during her whole life until she left Iran in 2009 : “For 30 years I wore hijab in front of my dad. It took time for me to be able to come out and tell people I prefer to have no hijab, that I want to be myself.” […] “Iran’s state television is only showing one side of society, only the people with hijab. It gives no airtime to people who have a different voice, who have a different lifestyle.” She also says that « I want to live in a country where both me, who doesn’t have hijab, and my sister, who prefers hijab, can live along each other.” (Source : The Irish Times, Iranian women post pictures without hijabas on Facebook)

Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Iranian government has required women to wear the hijab, even a religious police was created and therefore often controls within the cities and towns to check if every woman respect the rules, or defy them. 

If only every woman could be who she wants to be, the World would be better, don’t you think ? 🙂