Tehran: In what is being perceived as a bold act of defiance against Iran’s strict dress code enforcement, an Iranian woman was recently captured on video pulling off a cleric’s turban after he allegedly questioned her for not wearing a hijab at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran.
The viral video circulating on social media shows the woman removing the turban and draping it over her head, using it as a headscarf.
She is heard asking, ‘So you have honour now?’ and further questions, ‘What did you do to my husband?’ Soon after, the woman draped in the scarf walks away, screaming, seemingly in search of her husband.
The video was initially shared on X by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad.
“A brave woman at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport confronted a cleric harassing her for not wearing a hijab. In a bold act of defiance, she removed his turban and wore it like a scarf, turning oppression into resistance,” Alinejad captioned the post.
She added, “For years, clerics have claimed their turbans and robes are sacred and untouchable, but this woman’s act of protest shattered that myth. Iranian women are exhausted and enraged by gender apartheid.”
Watch the video here
Mashregh News, a media agency connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that the incident had nothing to do with hijab and attributed the woman’s actions to ‘psychological problems.’ It reported she was briefly detained and later released.
The move comes after a 30-year-old student from the Islamic Azad University in Tehran stripped down to her knickers in protest of the dress rule.
This incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of women’s rights in Iran, particularly following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022 while in custody of the morality police.
Amini was detained for allegedly wearing her hijab ‘improperly,’ sparking widespread protests across Iran and drawing global condemnation.
Since then, Iranian authorities have intensified crackdowns, leading to the detention of numerous women and activists. Legal actions, including fines, imprisonment, and public harassment, have been reported against those challenging the regime’s dress codes, highlighting the ongoing struggle for personal freedoms and gender equality in the country.
Iranian law mandated hijab after the 1979 Islamic revolution, expressing religious faith for many women, but some view it as a restriction on personal freedom.
However, since the takeover of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, the moral police have reportedly been suspended in the country and stringent laws over hijab have also been eased.
