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#NoHijabDay: Why women in Iran are taking off their hijabs on the streets

Tired of government-imposed veils, Iranian women are now protesting against Hijabs and will be observing #NoHijabDay on February 1

While we sit here in the comfort of our houses, women in Iran are risking imprisonment by removing their hijab to protest against forced hijab.

What began in the last week of December, 2017, as an act of defiance against the law that mandates compulsory hijab in public, is now multiplying as women in Iran (and around the world) are gearing up to celebrate #NoHijabDay on February 1. A day typically labelled, World Hijab Day.

Bravery truly is contagious as women are coming out and standing in public waving the hijabs they’ve taken off, and using it as a flag of protest. These women appear to be following the lead of a 31-year-old protester, Vida Movahed, who took off her headscarf in late December and was in custody for a few weeks.

Following Vida’s arrest, women all over the world, irrespective of caste and creed, have decided to unite and turn World Hijab Day (1st Feb) into #NoHijabDay in an act of defiance:

It’s #WorldHijabDay on February the 1st.. non Muslim women will be invited to take part in wearing hijab in solidarity with hijabi Muslim women, yet these hijabi women take great offence over #NoHijabDay where hijab is removed in solidarity with those who are forced to wear it.

— Safiya ___ ____ (@khaybar628) January 26, 2018

Dear men and women and all genders in between:

On February 1st, World Hijab Day, please record yourself wearing a hijab, then removing it and burning it! Use the hashtags #MyStealthyFreedom and #NoHijabDay

Let’s stand in solidarity w these brave women of #Iran ___ pic.twitter.com/TgUYaF2uJy

— Yasmine Mohammed (@ConfessionsExMu) January 30, 2018

Hey so FYI this is REAL feminism not some two bit soapbox preacher with scarf tightly wound around her skull spewing hate. These women are fighting for their right to be women. They’re fighting for their right to exist within a world that states they do not. #NoHijabDay https://t.co/TzIlfB2EZ3

— Asmi Fathelbab (@Asmi1121) January 30, 2018

Take off your hijab and show solidarity with the brave women of Iran. #NoHijabDay https://t.co/fGoAjy2h21

— Ali A. Rizvi (@aliamjadrizvi) January 30, 2018

Two days prior to #NoHijabDay, women in Iran took to the streets and protested against the mandatory hijab laws by putting their scarves on sticks and posted them with the hashtag #دختران_خیابان_انقلاب  roughly translating to “the girls of revolution street”

#Iranian woman, Vida Movahed, “The Girl of Enghelab Street” who bravely stood on a pillar box in #Tehran waving her hijab has been kept in jail since 27 Dec
She is 31 years old & has a 19-month-old baby#IranProtests #FreeIran #women #HumanRights #_________#_______ pic.twitter.com/l8yKQZuGrO

— Firouz Mahvi (@FirouzMahvi) January 24, 2018

#HappeningNow
Jan 30 – Tehran, #Iran
Outside the city theater
More brave women (#GirlsOfRevolutionSt) taking off their headscarves & protesting compulsory hijab laws. The regime can no longer oppress this growing movement.#GirlOfEnghelabStreet#IranUprising continues. pic.twitter.com/5S0VkaA0fS

— farzadmashad (@farzadmashad1) January 30, 2018

Another image surfacing of a woman in #Iran, waving her #hijab in protest. This is a growing movement within #IranianProtests where women are taking the lead in the fight for a #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/J7DupqEB7l

— Annika H Rothstein (@truthandfiction) January 30, 2018

More women in #Iran are risking imprisonment by removing their #hijab to protest against forced hijab and posting it with the hashtag #____________________ meaning “the girls of Enghelab street” which was the street where #VidaMovahed first took off her hijab.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/tqpwxQfoSl

— Armin Navabi (@ArminNavabi) January 29, 2018

On February 1st, World Hijab Day, should be turned into #NoHijabDay

stand in solidarity with women of #Iran
___ _____ ___ _____ ____ __ __ _______ __ ____ _____ __ ___ __ __ ____ ______ _ ___ __ _______ ____ ______ _____ ____! pic.twitter.com/t445LGt1vW

— fariborz pooya (@fariborzpooya) January 30, 2018

We stand with the brave women of Iran! @rezahoseanirad2 #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/zR472st9sS

— __DH__ (@Daesh_Hunter_) January 29, 2018

Compulsory hijab is an unnatural system enforced by the Islamic Republic. It has never worked. It will never work. And these women will win.#Iranprotests #____________________ pic.twitter.com/6SmNqyJ0VA

— Saman Arbabi (@SamanArbabi) January 30, 2018

Men are joining the protest against forced hijabs too:

Men joining protest against #forcedhijab, an insult to their dignity as well #girlsofrevolutionstreet #solidarity #womensrights #____________________ pic.twitter.com/Fdia20fcbp

— Tavaana _____ (@Tavaana) January 30, 2018

While other women have also been arrested, the brave women of Iran are in no mood to slow down. How’s that for girl power?