Women of Iran: TIME Heroes of the Year 2022

Dec 7, 2022 | Younger women are now in the streets. The movement they’re leading is educated, liberal, secular, raised on higher expectations, and desperate for normality: college and foreign travel, decent jobs, rule of law, access to the Apple Store, a meaningful role in politics, the freedom to say and wear whatever. They are quite unlike those who came before them; sometimes they feel more like transnational Gen Z than Iranians: they are vegans, they de-Islamicize their names, they don’t want children. I’ve often wondered what has made them so rebellious, because their ferocious character was evident well before 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini, arrested at a metro station by the morality police who enforce the dress code, died after being held in their custody on Sept. 16, setting off the most sustained uprising in the 43-year history of the Islamic Republic. The average age of arrested protesters is notably low—Iranian officials estimate as young as 15. I can only conclude that when a generation’s aspirations for freedom appear tantalizingly within reach, the more humiliating the remaining restrictions seem, and the less daunting the final stretch of resistance feels.

Iranian Women Who Posted Photos Without Hijabs Face Conservative Backlash

Picture of women posing without their hijabs posted on the Facebook page 

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Women who posted pictures of themselves without their hijabs on in the strict Islamic Republic are facing a growing online backlash

Iranian women who posted pictures online of themselves with their hair uncovered are facing a growing backlash from conservative sections of the Islamic Republic.

Dozens of women posted photos of themselves on a Facebook page flouting the Islamic dress code in parks, at the seaside and in the streets.

The My Stealthy Freedom group was set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad with the aim of sparking debate on whether women should have the right to choose what to wear.

Within the first two days of its creation, 30,000 women posted photos of themselves.

“This is Iran… The feeling of the wind blowing through every strand of hair, is a girl’s biggest dream,” the caption on the page read.

Ms Alinejad was inundated with international messages of support, but the reaction at home has been less positive. » | Josie Ensor | Friday, May 23, 2014

Iranian Women Post Pictures of Themselves without Hijabs on Facebook

THE GUARDIAN: Campaign set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad attracts more than 130,000 likes on social media site

Thousands of Iranian women are taking off their veils and publishing pictures of themselves online, igniting a debate about the freedom to wear or not wear the hijab.

A Facebook page set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad 10 days ago has attracted more than 130,000 likes, with women across Iran sending unveiled pictures taken in parks, at the seaside and in the streets.

"My stealthy freedom while driving in the streets of Tehran," wrote Maryam alongside an image showing her behind the wheel. "I like to feel the wind blowing on my face." » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Monday, Monday 12, 2014

'My Body, My Choice': Exiled Iranian Women Pose Nude for Video in Protest against Sexual Oppression in Their Native Country

MAIL ONLINE: Defiant call for equality as world marks International Women's Day today
A group of Iranian women have stripped off for a new video in a protest against sexual oppression in their native country.

The ladies, who are living in exile in Europe, pose naked in front of the camera as they each deliver a defiant message.

Their slogans include 'I believe in the equality of women and men' and 'my thoughts, my body, my choice'.

They have produced the video in the hope of boosting sales of the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar, which has been released today to coincide with International Women's Day.

The calendar has been dedicated to an Egyptian activist who posted a full-length photo of herself on her blog last year in a stand against sexual discrimination in Islam. » | Simon Tomlinson | Thursday, March 08, 2012

Related video »

RT: Freedom unveiled: Iranian women strip to slam repression » | Friday, March 09, 2012

Iranian Women Are Going Naked : برهنه شدن زنان ایرانی ادامه دارد

RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: Topless Iranian Women 'Say No To Political Islam' » | Persian Letters | Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Iranian Women: Are They Covering Up?
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Women Are Coming Under Increasing Pressure in Iran
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The burgeoning feminist movement in Iran is coming under increased pressure from Ahmadinejad's hardline regime. Activists who are campaigning to improve women's rights are being harassed, arrested and imprisoned for violating "national security." Tehran Cracks Down on Feminist Movement (more)

Mark Alexander