Some Iranian women are posting photos of themselves without the hijab on a new Facebook page launched to share “stealthy” moments of freedom from the veil.
The page – which has accumulated more than 132,000 likes in just a fortnight – features Iranian women joyfully revelling without their headscarves.
It was set up by Masih Alinejad, an Iranian political journalist based in the UK, “My hair was like a hostage to the government. The government still has a lot of hostages.”
Wearing the hijab has been compulsory since the 1979 Revolution and the lack of it is punishable by fines, imprisonment or lashes.
Additionally, Facebook is banned in Iran, though as many as four million Iranians are believed to use it regularly. “No words to say. Just that freedom is wonderfully enjoyable, even a brief moment of it,” reads a caption to one of the photos uploaded. SEE MORE AFTER CUT>>>>>>
“Hoping for the day when all my nation’s women can taste freedom with their whole bodies and souls,” reads one featuring a woman standing in a cornfield with her undone hijab streaming behind her.
Another states: “These little stealth freedoms might seem so trivial, but they are vital to your soul. And I’ll carry these tiny freedoms with me in each step I take till I reach absolute freedom at last.”
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