© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
There has been a new addition to the ongoing anti-veil protests in Iran. In recent weeks, protesters have started knocking off or stealing the turbans worn by religious clerics. These acts are done to show defiance against Iran’s strict rules that require women to cover their hair in a compulsory hijab when they are in public places.
While Iran has a long history of women’s resistance against such restrictive rules, the anti-veil protests got a strong push this September after the death of Mehsa Amini. Amini, 22, died on September 16 after being allegedly assaulted by Iran’s morality police, for not wearing the hijab properly.
The videos of ‘turban throwing’ are going viral on social media. These clips, in which the identity of the turban thrower is concealed, show men and women sneaking upon the religious clerics and then knocking off their turbans. While some protesters would run after doing this, some would feign ignorance and pretend that they did not do it.
On Monday, Iranian-American analyst Holly Dagres posted a compilation of these videos on her Twitter account. In her tweets, she also shared a spoof account of the “Iran Turban Throw Federation” that has jokingly announced a ‘turban grab and throw contest’.
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) November 7, 2022
While many people applauded the protests for their disruptive tactics in face of strong pushback from the regime, others found the act of violating a religious figure’s attire inappropriate.
Criticising the protesters, a Twitter user wrote, “Disgusting. Way to lose supporters for your “movement”.” In their defence, another person remarked, “Years and years of threatening women in the streets, yelling at them for what their wearing, and taking their basic rights… well, Karma is a b*tch! #MahsaAmini #IranRevolution”.
