THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

These women are defying Iran's hijab laws — despite fear of reprisal Source: CBC By:  Margaret Evans We young people have decided to live the way we like’ Women in Iran have endured laws restricting what they can do and wear for decades, but some are now starting to defy those rules. CBC’s senior international correspondent Margaret Evans went to Tehran and met some of the women refusing to wear the hijab, part of what they hope will be a wider societal change. The face of Tehran has been undergoing an extraordinary transformation in recent months, some neighbourhoods seeming to channel Beirut as much as the capital of the Islamic Republic where headscarves — or hijabs — have been mandatory for women for 45 years. Less than three years after the brutal crackdown on the protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody for an alleged dress code violation, a growing number of women are daring to bare their heads in public. They’re not a majority, but on any given day in north Tehran’s popular Tajrish Square, you’ll find a mixture of women with and without headscarves. Some don’t even wear them around their necks anymore, where they could be pulled up quickly if the d…

Women's Dress in Iran: From the Islamic Sitr to the Political Hijab The Islamic Republic’s position that it is merely carrying out a religious mandate is disingenuous, as is clear from Khomeini’s own religious writings and from the history of the hijab in Iran. Whereas the concept of sitr remains separated from politics in Iran, the hijab is now unequivocally a political concept. Throughout the course of human history, covering (sitr) has been a normal part of cultural and other societal needs and religious guidelines, including those issued by Islamic religious authorities. However, during the last two centuries, we have gradually begun to see the rise of the distinct and politicized concept of the“hijab” in a number of Muslim societies, and in particular, the use of this term in place ofsitrin Iran. For Iranian women, donning the hijab or taking it off has political connotations two centuries in the making. The hijab has repeatedly featured in popular protests against the Iranian government—most recently in the protest movement after the death of Mahsa Amini—and the regime and its opponents vie with each other over imposing or removing the veil. The Arabic root of hijab means …

Iran's Streets 'Transformed' As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab Share Share Iranian journalist Zeinab Rahimi has refused to wear the mandatory hijab for over two years, despite the risk of arrest and imprisonment. She is among a growing number of women and girls who have stopped covering their head in public, in direct defiance of the country’s clerical rulers. “I enjoy seeing women dress the way they like and letting their hair out,” Rahimi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, describing the visible change on the streets of Tehran, the Iranian capital. “We haven’t experienced this in our country for many years,” added the 22-year-old. “It’s beautiful when you don’t have to wrap yourself up, especially when you have always resented it.” Turning Point The turning point was the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran in 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for violating the hijab law.Women were at the forefront of the protests, during which some removed and burned their hijab. The demonstrations snowballed into the biggest threat to the authorities in decades, with some protesters calling for an end to clerical rule. In the wake o…

More Iranian women are defing the regime’s hijab law — risking brutal wrath of the morality police More and more women in Iran are openly defying the country's hijab law despite the risks following the regime's deadly protest crackdown.

Iran's Streets 'Transformed' As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab Feminism X Facebook Bluesky Email Share By Fereshteh Ghazi and Farangis Najibullah ( RFE / RL ) – Iranian journalist Zeinab Rahimi has refused to wear the mandatory hijab for over two years, despite the risk of arrest and imprisonment. She is among a growing number of women and girls who have stopped covering their head in public, in direct defiance of the country’s clerical rulers. “I enjoy seeing women dress the way they like and letting their hair out,” Rahimi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, describing the visible change on the streets of Tehran, the Iranian capital. “We haven’t experienced this in our country for many years,” added the 22-year-old. “It’s beautiful when you don’t have to wrap yourself up, especially when you have always resented it.” Turning Point The turning point was the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran in 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for violating the hijab law. Women were at the forefront of the protests, during which some removed and burned their hijab. The demonstrations snowballed into the biggest threat to the authorities in…

Iran's Streets 'Transformed' As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab Iran’s Streets ‘Transformed’ As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab Radio Farda-oct 12th2025 Iranian journalist Zeinab Rahimi has refused to wear the mandatory hijab for over two years, despite the risk of arrest and imprisonment. She is among a growing number of women and girls who have stopped covering their head in public, in direct defiance of the country’s clerical rulers. “I enjoy seeing women dress the way they like and letting their hair out,” Rahimi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, describing the visible change on the streets of Tehran, the Iranian capital. “We haven’t experienced this in our country for many years,” added the 22-year-old. “It’s beautiful when you don’t have to wrap yourself up, especially when you have always resented it.” Turning Point The turning point was the antiestablishment protests that rocked Iran in 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for violating the hijab law. Women were at the forefront of the protests, during which some removed and burned their hijab. The demonstrations snowballed into the biggest threat to the authorities in decade…

Gender Apartheid in Iran is Crushing Women's Lives and Futures March 6, 2025 Gender Apartheid in Iran is Crushing Women’s Lives and Futures This International Women’s Day, the World Must Declare Gender Apartheid a Crime Against Humanity March 6, 2025 — In Iran, women are second-class citizens—systematically oppressed by laws and policies that serve only one purpose: to entrench the power of the government. For over four decades, the Islamic Republic has restricted women’s rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, work, the courts, political office, travel, lifestyle, and clothing—using their bodies and freedoms as tools of domination—and has blatantly failed to protect women from gender-based violence . As the Iranian government escalates its systematic assault on women’s fundamental rights and solidifies a discriminatory system that can only be described as gender apartheid, the urgent need to criminalize gender-based violations of international law has never been greater, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today. “The oppression of women in Iran is not just discrimination—it is a deliberately designed, institutionalized system of domination intended t…