Men in Iran don headscarves to support campaign against enforced hijab

Men in Iran have taken to social media to post pictures of them wearing hijab to support their female relatives in protest against the so-called ‘morality police’ in the country, which enforces hijab on women.

Headscarves for women have been strictly enforced in the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Women in Iran are forced to wear hijab outside domestic settings; not doing so can land them punishment ranging from fines to imprisonment, the Independent reported.  

A recent campaign, dubbed My Stealthy Freedom, has seen women defying the morality police by posting pictures of them without hijab in public and even shaving off their heads. The campaign has been started by Masih Alinejad, an Iranian activist and journalist in New York, who has called for men to support women in the protest by posting pictures with hijab alongside women with uncovered hair, using the hashtag #meninhijab.

“Most of these men are living inside Iran and they have witnessed how their female relatives have been suffering at the hands of the morality police and humiliation of enforced hijab," she told the Independent.

“In our society, a woman’s existence and identity is justified by a man’s integrity, and in many cases the teachings of a religious authority or government officials influence a man’s misguided sense of ownership over women. So I thought it would be fantastic to invite men to support women's rights,” she said.

Pictures of men in hijab are pouring in from Iran. One man posted a picture with the caption:  “When my female cousins saw that I was wearing their headscarf, they couldn't stop laughing. I asked them, does it look so funny on me? I really love and respect my cousins. I think that one should not talk about freedom if she/he supports the idea of restricting other people's freedom. If only hijab were the only problem in our country, as the authorities would like us to believe. It is as if they have hypnotised our brains with a black piece of cloth and they only want us to believe that hijab is the most important issue in our country."