Visuals of young Iranians knocking clerics’ turbans off their heads have gone viral on social media as protests over the execution of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iran intensify. As part of the ongoing protests against the authoritarian government that makes hijabs obligatory, many videos of schoolboys and girls striking clerics’ turbans and running away have gone extremely viral on social media.
In one video that has gone viral, a young lady can be seen approaching a man wearing a traditional robe from behind and striking his white turban hard enough to cause it to fall to the ground. The Muslim preacher bends down to pick up his headpiece as the woman departs without turning around.
International anxiety over Iran’s response to the protests has increased, prompting a new form of protest. Iran’s authorities warned demonstrators to leave the streets, yet demonstrations nonetheless took place. Social media users posted videos demonstrating that the protests are still going strong.
The public’s worries about Iran’s response to the demonstrations are growing as a result of this unique display of contempt for the nation’s religious establishment. According to reports, hundreds of people were killed by Iranian security forces during the protests that broke out when Mahsa Amini, 22, died while being held by Iran’s morality police after being arrested for improperly donning her headscarf.
Iran saw a wave of protests following her killing, with many women taking to the streets to take a stand. In support of the victims, a number of women, including schoolgirls, burnt their hijabs, and women everywhere chopped their hair in protest. Protests broke out in hundreds of places around the nation after her death.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was detained by the ‘morality police’ in Tehran for failing to comply with the country’s required hijab requirements. Amini, who was on a pleasure trip to Tehran, had not properly covered her hair in the hijab. She was detained by police and then assaulted in the police vehicle while being driven to a detention centre for a “re-education class” for failing to wear the country’s mandated head covering.
It is worth emphasising that women in Iran are forced to wear a hijab, which covers the head and neck and hides the hair, under Islamic law, which has been in place since the 1979 revolution. While Iranian women battle to be emancipated from the restrictions of headscarves, the hijab is used to further the Islamic agenda across the world.
