Iranian Women Tear Off Their Veils in National Push for Rights

Iranian women brave the streets, their hair gently blowing in the wind, as they protest the brutal beating of a woman by morality police officers for failing to wear the traditional veil, or hijab, ‘appropriately’.

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The woman’s dark hair peeked out from beneath a red scarf and triggered a violent assault by three Iranian police officers. Amid screams and struggles, the woman asked her attackers why they were hitting her.

“You have been destroying us for 30 years," the woman says to the officers, referring to the 1970 law which forces women to cover their heads while in public.

Activists and politicians have weighed in on the incident since the video went viral last week, with women across the nation standing together under the slogan #WalkingUnveiled and tearing off their hijabs in solidarity with the victim.

“No woman should be beaten up for the way she dresses. No woman should be punished for it. #WalkingUnveiled,” writes Twitter user Ashley Vdk.

As part of the movement, one woman filmed herself walking through the streets of Karaj, dark hair flying free, saying, “Today I walked the whole way without the compulsory hijab. I wanted to say that like many, I'm against compulsory veil too. I want to say no to compulsory veil and I hope there comes a day when all Iranian women can take a walk with no fear or stress and without having to put on a compulsory veil.”

"Agents had gotten used to dragging people away and assaulting them without anyone finding out. Now people on social media are finding these cases and drumming up attention in every corner,” writes Journalist Hossein Bastani.

Another online campaign entitled, My Stealthy Freedom, has taken off, addressing incidents of abuse targeting women who choose to keep their heads uncovered.

President Hassan Rouhani condemned the incident, saying “Grabbing people's collars to promote virtue will not work. You cannot do it by being aggressive.”

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli launched an investigation and, so far, one of the three officers has been suspended pending an investigation.