Moment brave Iranian woman tears off cleric’s turban and drapes it over her head in act of defiance after he scolded her for not wearing hijab at Tehran’s international airport
This is the provocative moment a brave Iranian woman ripped off a cleric’s turban and draped it over herself after he scolded her for not wearing a hijab at an international airport in Tehran.
The video, posted on social media by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, shows the unnamed woman shouting at the man at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport.
After he grabs his white turban, you hear her shout over and over, “What’s wrong with this?”
She was then seen chasing the man while shouting: ‘What’s wrong with this? Say something!’
Alinejad said of the woman: ‘[She] was confronted by a cleric who harassed her for not wearing a hijab.
“In a bold act of defiance, she removed his turban and wore it as a scarf, turning oppression into resistance.
“For years, clergy have claimed that their turbans and robes are sacred and inviolable, but this woman’s protest has shattered that myth. Iranian women are exhausted and enraged by gender apartheid.”
Iran has long been seen as a regressive nation when it comes to its attitudes and policies towards women.
The video, posted on social media by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, shows the yet unnamed woman shouting at the man at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport.
Two Iranian women in November. Women in Iran now face the death penalty or years behind bars if they violate new morality laws
The 2022 protests in Iran, with an unveiled woman standing on top of a car. Amnesty International has condemned new laws that claim women could be sentenced to death for sending videos of themselves to media outside the Islamic Republic.
Last month, new laws passed by Iran’s hardline parliament introduced harsh punishments for women in the name of promoting a “culture of chastity and hijab.”
These punishments are aimed at those caught ‘promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or inappropriate dress’ and can lead to fines of up to £12,500, flogging and prison sentences of up to 15 years for repeat offenders.
This includes women alleged to be promoting or advocating indecency, exposure or ‘bad dress’ against foreign entities, including international media and civil society organizations.
If Iranian authorities determine that the crime has led to “corruption on earth,” the suspect could be sentenced to death under Article 296 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code.
Amnesty International denounced new laws that say women could be sentenced to death for sending videos of themselves to media outside the Islamic Republic.
The rights group said the law also appears to provide immunity to anyone who wants to fulfill their “religious duty” and impose mandatory head coverings for women.
Companies that fail to enforce the laws will also be subject to severe penalties.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy Middle East director, told The Guardian: ‘This shameful law intensifies the persecution of women and girls for daring to stand up for their rights in the wake of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
“The authorities are trying to entrench the already suffocating system of repression against women and girls while making their daily lives even more unbearable.”
The new laws also sparked outrage among Iranian activists and journalists.
Iranian human rights lawyers such as Saeid Dehghan went so far as to claim that it violates Article 9 of the Iranian Constitution, which prohibits legislation that undermines citizens’ freedoms, even in the name of national sovereignty.