Women in Iran are starting a movement, protesting the compulsory hijab

[Deleted member 10737]

two more from earlier today, and a video of a man protesting

Seems like the government already condemned it as unislamic and against the law and threatened them.

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there have been three government officials who have said something about the movement, all of them have been dismissive. obviously it is against the law and if they see someone doing it they'll arrest them, it just seems like girls are doing this for a few minutes and then going, in fear of being arrested. so far only one of them has been arrested.
the statements from government officials are these, my [bad] translations:
a famous congressman, Ali Motaharri: "there's no forcing women to wear hijabs in the society, and most women go out any way they like, so there's no force being employed. the fact that a few girls are waving their scarves in the air isn't that important." super dismissive and complete bs and factually wrong
attorney general of iran, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri: "if a woman walks in the streets without hijab, she's committing a crime according to the law. taking off your scarf in the street to be provocative is a childish move." he's right that it is against the law.
prosecutor general of tehran, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, he confirmed the arrest of one of the protesters and said about them: "they're committing a crime and we'll do our duty in handling the situation."

 

[GamingEnthusiast]

I'm glad you've found a way to reinterpret scripture away from it's fundamental nature, but to be clear the only reason why religions move away from fundamentalism is because of the development and acceptance of secular humanism, not because they embrace a "truer" form of the religion.

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You've clearly not studied Islam in a more in-depth manner and judging by what you said about secular humanism, it seems you're not going to open your mind about religions anytime soon. FYI, the fundamental nature of the Qur'an is not misogynistic in nature and this claim has been refuted too many times for me to create and derail the thread any longer.

 

[dabig2]

Great stuff OP. I particularly love the ones with the hijab-wearing ones. It shows that the piece of cloth itself isn't the issue, but the mandatory nature of it. That has no place in modern society, so focus less on the hijab itself my Western minded brethren.

 

[Dice]

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!!!
This lady is so awesome!!

 

[Deleted member 10737]

two more videos from today, first one is specially impressive because it's right in front of a "basij" center. basij are kinda like a voluntary police force.

Great stuff OP. I particularly love the ones with the hijab-wearing ones. It shows that the piece of cloth itself isn't the issue, but the mandatory nature of it. That has no place in modern society, so focus less on the hijab itself my Western minded brethren.

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true, women with hijab supporting is huge, specially since they can't arrest them anyway

This lady is so awesome!!

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out of today's protesters she got the most attention on twitter and other social media. she's amazing.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

not sure if this guy knows what he's doing, mocking the girls or protesting his own flag.

 

[CalamityPixel]

Really incredible

 

[cid85]

not sure if this guy knows what he's doing, mocking the girls or protesting his own flag.

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What part of Iran are you from ?

 

[Deleted member 10737]

What part of Iran are you from ?

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currently studying in tabriz

 

[Deleted member 10737]

police has announced they've arrested 29 people who, as they say, "have been tricked by the campaign to remove their hijab"
not sure if i believe the number, it's likely exaggerated to scare off people who may have been considering to join, but still, very worrying.

 

[Morrigan]

police has announced they've arrested 29 people who, as they say, "have been tricked by the campaign to remove their hijab"
not sure if i believe the number, it's likely exaggerated to scare off people who may have been considering to join, but still, very worrying.

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Awful news... :( And the propaganda/spin on this, urgh. Absolutely infuriating.

I hope this doesn't discourage the movement (though I wouldn't blame any woman from slinking away and not wanting trouble) and that protests will continue.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Awful news... :( And the propaganda/spin on this, urgh. Absolutely infuriating.

I hope this doesn't discourage the movement (though I wouldn't blame any woman from slinking away and not wanting trouble) and that protests will continue.

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there weren't any new pictures of protesters today, the two i posted earlier today were from last night. sadly i think the number police patrols today stopped a lot of people from trying. still, these past three days were absolutely ground breaking for women's rights and activism in iran.

edit: there was this picture of this little girl that was posted today. girls before the age of like 15 don't have to wear hijabs outside of school, this girl is in her school uniform.

 

[xvr]

police has announced they've arrested 29 people who, as they say, "have been tricked by the campaign to remove their hijab"
not sure if i believe the number, it's likely exaggerated to scare off people who may have been considering to join, but still, very worrying.

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Damn, that's terrible if true, hoping it's just a scare tactic. The spin that they're trying to put on it is gross. Are there any congressmen at all supporting this movement?
Also love your constant updates and photos in this thread mazi.

 

[Not]

Good to hear. They just need some powerful woke Iranian men to support them and not be total dipshits.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

late last night in kerman

two girls, one with hijab and one without it protesting in tehran this morning, the street sign i've underlined with red is actually for "hijab street" :)

a woman protesting this morning in isfahan, on the "khaju bridge", a very historic landmark

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some people in support of the madatory hijab are stealing and mocking the movement, by waving iranian flags instead of scarves. the woman's sign says "i love [my] iran", and the other woman is standing exactly on the same telecom box as the protester in the quoted picture above. fucking disgusting.

Damn, that's terrible if true, hoping it's just a scare tactic. The spin that they're trying to put on it is gross. Are there any congressmen at all supporting this movement?
Also love your constant updates and photos in this thread mazi.

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of course not, that would be suicide for their political career. as stupid as this sound, that piece of cloth covering women's hair has become a foundation for the islamic regime of iran. some politician coming out and saying they don't believe it should be mandatory would be the same as an american politician saying guns should be banned or something else against the american constitution.

 

[Deleted member 888]

The only thing you could add about those women for the mandatory veiling is they will be indoctrinated and possibly already faced violence or serious threats.

Its sad to see but potentially explainable. Counter-protesting like that might be hard to believe but there is a good chance they are victims themselves.

 

[Wackamole]

So there were 29 arrests?
Good. Big mistake. It will add fule to the greater cause.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

one from saveh, a small city

The only thing you could add about those women for the mandatory veiling is they will be indoctrinated and possibly already faced violence or serious threats.

Its sad to see but potentially explainable. Counter-protesting like that might be hard to believe but there is a good chance they are victims themselves.

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i don't believe it's because of threats or violence, there are women like that in this society, women who are maybe even more fundamentalists in islam than most men. i see those kind of women often. there's also, just like most other countries, an alt right movement going on here, specially on the rise with the election of a moderate president for the second term in the spring where they tried so fucking hard to get their candidate elected but failed. adding alt right to religious fundamentalism will result in this type of reactionary protesting.

So there were 29 arrests?
Good. Big mistake. It will add fule to the greater cause.

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maybe, most people don't believe it and think they're exaggerating the number to scare people off. the thing is, this is a movement that would have failed like 5 years ago and is spreading now because of social media and because everyone has a camera on them and are on twitter and instagram. if there was 29 arrests of girls protesting there would have been some videos or pictures of it.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

Do you think the protests are still gaining frequency? (as in the numbers of women doing this rising day to day) Will it strengthen or eventually peter out?

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Do you think the protests are still gaining frequency? (as in the numbers of women doing this rising day to day) Will it strengthen or eventually peter out?

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yesterday was a very quite day, people were posting older pictures on twitter but pretty much nothing new. this morning i've seen a few which i've posted. i don't know really, it's hard to tell now. many of my friends, both male and female, think movement will fizzle out after like two weeks, but some think it will go on. i think the news of the arrests that came out yesterday has angered and encouraged many women to come out today. i'm thinking even if it dies out, it'll get much bigger before it does.
also to note is that we're in day two of the ten day "celebration" of the iranian revolution, which may have made the government super sensitive about any protests, fearing it would lead to more general protests about bigger things.

 

[Deleted member 888]

one from saveh, a small city




i don't believe it's because of threats or violence, there are women like that in this society, women who are maybe even more fundamentalists in islam than most men. i see those kind of women often. there's also, just like most other countries, an alt right movement going on here, specially on the rise with the election of a moderate president for the second term in the spring where they tried so fucking hard to get their candidate elected but failed. adding alt right to religious fundamentalism will result in this type of reactionary protesting.


maybe, most people don't believe it and think they're exaggerating the number to scare people off. the thing is, this is a movement that would have failed like 5 years ago and is spreading now because of social media and because everyone has a camera on them and are on twitter and instagram. if there was 29 arrests of girls protesting there would have been some videos or pictures of it.

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Of course some might be fundamentalists and/or just shitty people themselves. Every human being, including women, has individual autonomy to forge their own path and belief systems. I don't doubt some, however, are just that brainwashed and have had it hammered into them from childhood what they are/need to do, will end up behaving in ways like this without fully being in control.

Controlling women is almost a currency for some, as it leads to domination and power.

 

[khaz]

You've clearly not studied Islam in a more in-depth manner and judging by what you said about secular humanism, it seems you're not going to open your mind about religions anytime soon. FYI, the fundamental nature of the Qur'an is not misogynistic in nature and this claim has been refuted too many times for me to create and derail the thread any longer.

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There have been many groups trying to get a more literal, say fundamental, read of all three religions of the book. They tend not to be feminists (and that's putting it very lightly).

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Of course some might be fundamentalists and/or just shitty people themselves. Every human being, including women, has individual autonomy to forge their own path and belief systems. I don't doubt some, however, are just that brainwashed and have had it hammered into them from childhood what they are/need to do, will end up behaving in ways like this without fully being in control.

Controlling women is almost a currency for some, as it leads to domination and power.

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of course, islam isn't the religion we choose in iran, it's your religion when you're born and you grow up with it and the consequences of getting out of it publicly are very heavy. there's always brainwashing involved when you raise a child in a certain religion, i just didn't think seeing a woman protesting FOR mandatory hijab meant she's pressured/threatened to do it. and the whole point of misogyny is to control women and feel superior. otherwise what women (who didn't see the world through a man's worldview) would protest AGAINST her own and other women's freedoom?

There have been many groups trying to get a more literal, say fundamental, read of all three religions of the book. They tend not to be feminists (and that's putting it very lightly).

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the difference is many other religions (christianity and judaism) accept that their holy books are actually written by people, and are a collection of texts collected during a long period, and they may feel free to disregard a certain part or have different takes on something. quran literally claims to be the literal word of god, dictated to the prophet mohammad through an angel. it claims to be timeless, claims to be the way of living throughout all ages, and claims to be immune to change or tempering, just to make sure at no time someone can say this part may not be the word of god and maybe someone changed it later.
so when someone reads something like this, or many other verses

Men have authority over women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.

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then they can't take seriously someone who says quran isn't misogynistic

it's ok to be a liberal muslim and not take the word of quran literally, but you also have to know that one of the most important pillars of islam is belief in quran, believing that it is the literal word of god, and it's god's plan for living. so a muslim reading something literally when they believe it's the word of god isn't that weird.

 

[Mogronash]

Thanks for the continuous updates OP. These women are incredibly brave, and even if it may take time I do hope they earn the right to choose what clothes they wear.

 

[FrequentFlyer]

So it seems like Rouhani commented and urged the religious leaders to not prevent modernisation. Is that just empty words or is he genuine?

 

[Deleted member 10737]

So it seems like Rouhani commented and urged the religious leaders to not prevent modernisation. Is that just empty words or is he genuine?

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basically empty words.
in iran, the politic left and right are relative. the left is more like the right of western politics and the right is the super alt right that's emerging in europe and america. on this scale, rouhani is somewhere in the middle. he did kinda trick people and got them to come out and vote (because many liberals wanted to boycott the election) by saying what the liberals wanted to hear and pretending to be much more left-leaning than he actually is. in the end he doesn't do the things people voted for him to do.
in iran the choice is always between bad and worse. people didn't vote for him because they particularly liked him, but becuase the other candidate was trump-tier terrible.

 

[Deleted member 14518]

These things can rumble on for some time in my experience before catching fire. There is definitely a consciousness there.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

today has been the biggest day for the movement, there's so much to post but i'm trying to not flood the thread or bump it constantly. if they wanted to send a message with yesterday's arrests, it failed.

here's one more girl, but sadly it's a super low quality picture of her. earlier today i saw a video of her waving her scarf on the side of the street but i can't find it anymore, all i can find is this low quality screen grab. decided to post it anyway because i've posted all the other girls (9 by my count) in this thread already.

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finally a good pic of this protester was posted. turns out he's a boy, Mehdi, and he was the first male protester who joined the girls on the first day. because of the low quality screencap and his long hair people assumed he was a girl. today he posted and talked about his motivations.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

few more from today

 

[gutter_trash]

I hope these women come out okay. They are so brave to stand up to that misogynistic garment imposed on them in 1979.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

 

[Glasgow Mega-Snake]

Thanks for keeping this thread updated OP, I read about this movement in the news, but it's different to hear the perspective of someone actually living there

It's easy to be a pessimist, but I hope there will be change in the not too far future

 

[Deleted member 10737]

fucking disgusting. the speaker for the judiciary branch of iran's government said today, paraphrasing:
the girls who did this were either tricked by foreign influence or were on drugs. even though we won't be harsh with those who admit to their wrong doing and will shortly release them with a "ta'ahod" (they have to write a letter saying what they did was wrong and won't be repeated), but those who don't will have criminal records, and it won't be easy continuing their education or finding work or husbands with criminal records.
people are absolutely outraged that he has accused the protesters of being under the influence, really unbelievable.
the protests pretty much came to a halt yesterday and today, still i'm so amazed by the bravery of all those who did protest, but completely understand why no one wants to deal with the consequences.

 

[Deleted member 888]

fucking disgusting. the speaker for the judiciary branch of iran's government said today, paraphrasing:
the girls who did this were either tricked by foreign influence or were on drugs. even though we won't be harsh with those who admit to their wrong doing and will shortly release them with a "ta'ahod" (they have to write a letter saying what they did was wrong and won't be repeated), but those who don't will have criminal records, and it won't be easy continuing their education or finding work or husbands with criminal records.
people are absolutely outraged that he has accused the protesters of being under the influence, really unbelievable.
the protests pretty much came to a halt yesterday and today, still i'm so amazed by the bravery of all those who did protest, but completely understand why no one wants to deal with the consequences.

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[SocksForWok]

Really happy for the girls brave enough to stand against real oppression and hope it spreads to other similar countries.

 

[Van Bur3n]

It was good while it lasted. Such backwards and primitive beliefs within this religion regarding women belong in a trashcan.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

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this is what you get when the country has been run for 40 years by a crazier version of the trump administration, and everyone in government is varying-degrees-of-trump crazy

 

[incogneato]

good

fuck islam's conditioning of women and i hope this continues!

 

[Deleted member 888]

this is what you get when the country has been run for 40 years by a crazier version of the trump administration, and everyone in government is varying-degrees-of-trump crazy

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But on drugs? How can you be that idiotic to release such a statement? I get the trying to blame the West argument, but no idea why they've thrown in all these women were high or something.

Such madness.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Really happy for the girls brave enough to stand against real oppression and hope it spreads to other similar countries.

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there aren't many similar countries, iran is the only one where women are required by law to wear hijbabs, regardless of being muslim or not. saudi arabia has this law for muslim women. many other countries in middle east don't have an specific law but still, most women do wear them. whether by choice or by pressure from society/their families/their husbands. it not being law in those countries is good because societal norms can change. girls in iran want the law to change.

But on drugs? How can you be that idiotic to release such a statement? I get the trying to blame the West argument, but no idea why they've thrown in all these women were high or something.

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sadly there's a [small] base of fanatics that will buy this, while other just shake their head and move on, because we're used to this level of crazy.

 

[Deleted member 888]

there aren't many similar countries, iran is the only one where women are required by law to wear hijbabs, regardless of being muslim or not. saudi arabia has this law for muslim women. many other countries in middle east don't have an specific law but still, most women do wear them. whether by choice or by pressure from society/their families/their husbands. it not being law in those countries is good because societal norms can change. girls in iran want the law to change.


sadly there's a [small] base of fanatics that will buy this, while other just shake their head and move on, because we're used to this level of crazy.

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If anyone is "on drugs" it's Iran's Government with the arrests and that response. The drug of self-importance and delusion.

 

[Chumley]

The thing I cannot empathize with on a personal level: Women in western societies claim they choose to wear a headscarve as a sign of personal freedom. But why in the world would you choose something that is an undisputed sign of oppression of women in another part of the world.

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Exactly. And yet we still have people on this board saying they don't have a problem with it. The reason they "choose" to wear it in western societies is out of fear and being raised by years of cultural oppression.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

This is so incredibly brave. I'm glad this is only gaining speed.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

This is so incredibly brave. I'm glad this is only gaining speed.

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sadly it's not, women are rightfully scared and not doing it anymore (comparing today and yesterday with the first few days). still, this was a huge start, and a historic event. one day they'll get what they want, sooner or later.

 

[Velka]

Just read through this thread, I was feeling so happy for these brave men and women and now the government dares to threaten their livelihoods and state that they were on drugs, absolutely spineless.

 

[Dekuman]

Good for them. Hope the authorities don't crack down too hard.

There is a very strong Persian community in my city, there is even a Persian grocery down the street from my apt. block and it always struck me how modern and progressive they are, relative to even Saudi Arabia. It's too bad they have oppressive religious leaders in charge, but behind closed doors, they are far and away more modern than most immigrants from the Middle East.

 

[gcwy]

fucking disgusting.

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Why is it fucking disgusting?

 

[Deleted member 10737]

Why is it fucking disgusting?

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because they've taken a symbolic move, that the first girl did, to mock the protesters and claim their love for the law of mandatory hijab.

 

[Horp]

These women are incredibly brave.
Best of luck to you, I'm sure this will, sooner or later, lead to something.

 

[Deleted member 888]

because they've taken a symbolic move, that the first girl did, to mock the protesters and claim their love for the law of mandatory hijab.

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I could be showing my ass linking this as I cannot translate



But it seems relevant to that earlier image you posted.

This seems funny as well, because we all know hair is deadly



But again I cannot translate so sorry in advance if it says anything silly.