#MenInHijab: Iranian Men Post Selfies Wearing Hijabs to Protest Veiling Law

By Derek Welch --
05 Aug 2016 --

Woman Hijab Headscarf Portrait Girl Veil Eye

Iranian men are showing support with women against the hijab law.

Iranians are protesting the conservative laws of the country that restrict a woman's freedom. Ever since the Islamic Revolution, the country's lawmakers have passed draconian legislations that curb the freedom of women. As a result, an Iranian woman cannot step out without having herself completely covered with loose clothing and her head, neck and hair being covered with the “hijab.” If women are found guilty of breaking this law, they can be punished with detention or lashes.

#MenInHijab: Iranian Men Post Selfies Wearing Hijabs to Protest Veiling Law[/tweetthis]

However, Iranian men and women are both protesting against these laws. In response to a call by Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad, who started the social media campaign, men across Iran are posting pictures of themselves in hijab on social networking sites. Alinejad, founder of the online movement against enforced hijab, My Stealthy Freedom, believes that the fight against such enforcements can be made stronger if men are involved in it. Alinejad left Iran in 2009, but continues to fight the Country's unreasonable rules which, according to her, leave a woman only two choices: either to wear a hijab, or to get lashed, jailed and lose her job.

For many women in Iran, the hijab is a sign of losing your dignity @Masih_Alinejad #MenInHijab https://t.co/Zz2okfjm8V
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) August 2, 2016

Alinejad asked the Iranian men if they would don the hijab, take selfies and tell her how they feel about it. The response was both immediate and overwhelming as scores of men on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posted pictures of themselves in hijab with either their wives or female relatives having their heads uncovered. The men, who have been feeling fed up of seeing their wives as victims of these repressive laws grabbed at the opportunity to tell the world how they feel.

#MenInHijab highlights the fact that women don't have any choice when it comes to wearing the hijab https://t.co/M7fviDhwuO
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) August 2, 2016

Iranian #MenInHijab supporting women in #iran saying NO to forced hijab imposed by government pic.twitter.com/HQEJbv5CZ2
— Parisa (@parisa22) July 31, 2016

One of the men who posted said that this feeling was absolutely humiliating for people who are given a false sense of liberation. Adding on, he said it is sad the whenever a woman leaves her home she has to don a new identity and leave her real self behind. Another writer says that he wants Iran to be a country where his wife can have absolute freedom to choose what she wears. He also says that forcing a woman to wear hijabs in the heat of Iranian summers is just inhuman and must be stopped.

Amidst all the laws that undermine a woman's rights, one thing has definitely been proven: Iranian men have had enough of their wives being subjected to the outdated beliefs of the male lawmakers and want their wives to be happier and free. Where force seeks subjugation, love seeks freedom.