Tehran: Men in Iran are wearing hijabs in a show of solidarity with women across the country who are forced to cover their heads in public. Wearing a head covering is strictly enforced by so-called ‘morality police’ in Iran and has been since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Women who do not wear a hijab or are deemed to be wearing ‘bad hijab’ by having some of their hair showing face punishments ranging from fines to imprisonment.
State-funded adverts on billboards in Iran present those who do not cover their hair as spoiled and dishonourable. But women have led protests against enforced hijab across the country and some have resorted to shaving their hair in order to appear in public without wearing a veil. Over the last week, a number of men have appeared in photos wearing a hijab with their wife or female relative next to them who have their hair uncovered.
The images come in response to a call by Masih Alinejad, an Iranian activist and journalist living in New York, who urged men to support her campaign against enforced hijab. Ms Alinejad runs the My Stealthy Freedom campaign and often shares pictures of women living in Iran who have enjoyed a moment of ‘stealthy freedom’ by taking their hijab off in public.
