An increasing number of Iranian women have been pushing back against Iranian religious restrictions and refusing to wear the Hijab. A Facebook page called My Stealthy Freedom is being used to post pictures of Iranian women without the traditional Muslim head covering (hijab) required by Iranian law.
Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, which deposed the modernist Shah Pahlavi, women have faced numerous restrictions in Iran. Refusal to wear the hijab in public is punishable with a fine, lashes or even a short jail sentence.
The women on the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom, however, which has over 300,000 likes on it, uploaded pictures of themselves without the hijab and some showed their faces, despite the danger of the possible repercussions. The women posted pictures of themselves looking happy, walking down the street, in the countryside or in the city, with their hair uncovered. Many post comments about the pleasures of feeling the wind in their hair and of freedom.
Meanwhile, Iran's biggest movie star Leila Hatami was in trouble after the President of the Cannes film festival, Gilles Jacob, kissed her on the cheek at the illustrious event. She has been criticized severely in Iranian media, both for the kiss and for what was perceived as inappropriate clothing. She was wearing a hijab at the event.
Iranian authorities, however, are pushing back against the women desiring more freedom. In January, Ayatollah Khomeini and some of his leading Mullahs issued a fatwa that stated "The state has the right to force women to respect hijab codes." On Friday around 1,000 people protested in central Tehran calling on the government to enforce hijab rules against what they saw as the "spread of vice."
Six young Iranians were arrested on Tuesday after they made a video of themselves dancing to the popular track 'Happy' by Pharell. The short clip, around 3 minutes, featured three men and three unveiled women dancing to the song in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The song has been used in videos by young people around the world who have filmed themselves dancing in their own cities.
The Iranian authorities viewed the video as seditious. Tehran's police chief Hossein Sajedinia told AFP reporters: "After a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity was released in cyberspace, police decided to identify those involved in making that clip. Following a series of intelligence and police operations and after coordinating with the judiciary, all the suspects were identified and arrested."
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