Girl of Enghelab Street
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The Girls of Enghelab protests ( fa, دختران انقلاب) are protests against the compulsory hijab in Iran, part of the wider Iranian Democracy Movement. The protests were inspired by Vida Movahed, an Iranian woman known as the Girl of Enghelab Street ( fa, دختر خیابان انقلاب), who stood in the crowd on a utility box on
Enghelab Street Enqelab Street (Persian: ; also spelled Enghelab) is a major trunk route in Tehran, Iran connecting Enqelab square to Imam Hossein Square. The street's full name is ''Enqelab-e Islami'' (Islamic Revolution Street) and it was named in honor of t ...
(Revolution Street) in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
on 27 December 2017 during the
2017–2018 Iranian protests Public protests took place in several cities in Iran beginning on 28 December 2017 and continued into early 2018. The first protest took place in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city by population, initially focused on the Economy of Iran, econo ...
who tied her hijab, a white headscarf, to a stick, and waved it to the crowd as a flag. She was arrested on that day and was released temporary on bail a month later, on 28 January 2018. Some people interpreted Movahed's action as being based on
Masih Alinejad Masih Alinejad ( fa, مسیح علی‌نژاد, born Masoumeh Alinejad-Ghomikolayi ( fa, معصومه علی‌نژاد قمی کُلایی), September 11, 1976) is an Iranian-American journalist, author, and women's rights activist. Alinejad c ...
's call for White Wednesdays, a protest movement that the presenter at VOA Persian Television started in early 2017. Other women later re-enacted her protest and posted photos of their actions on social media. These women are described as the "Girls of Enghelab Street" and the "Girls of Revolution Street" in English sources. Some of the protesters however claim that they were not following Masih Alinejad's call. The protests intensified in 2022 due to the
death of Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini,; ku, ژینا ئەمینی, Jîna Emînî died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious mor ...
.


Islamic Republic's Penal Code

In the Islamic law of Iran imposed shortly after the
1979 Islamic revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
, article 638 of 5th book of Islamic Penal Code (called Sanctions and deterrent penalties) women who do not wear a hijab may be imprisoned from ten days to two months, and/or required to pay fines from Rls.50,000 to Rls.500,000 . Fines are recalculated in the courts to index for inflation. This has been translated and published by the
Legal Information Institute The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a non-profit, public service of Cornell Law School that provides no-cost access to current American and international legal research sources online alaw.cornell.edu The organization is a pioneer in the del ...
of Cornell Law School. Article 639 of the same book says, two types of people shall be sentenced one year to ten years' imprisonment; first a person who establishes or directs a place of immorality or prostitution, second, a person who facilitates or encourages people to commit immorality or prostitution. These are some of the laws under which some protesters were charged.


Background

Before the
Iranian Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
of 1979 (during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of Iran), the hijab was not compulsory, though some Iranian women during this period wore headscarves or
chador A chādor ( Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of I ...
. After the 1979 Islamic revolution, the hijab gradually became compulsory. In 1979,
Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
announced that women should observe Islamic dress code; His statement sparked demonstrations, the
International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979 On International Women's Day on March 8, 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran in Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate the International Women's Day, but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in ...
, which were met by government assurances that the statement was only a recommendation. Hijab was subsequently made mandatory in government and public offices in 1980, and in 1983 it became mandatory for all women. In 2018, a government run survey dating back to 2014, was released by President
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
, showing that 49.8% of Iranians were against compulsory or mandatory hijab. The report was released by the Center for Strategic Studies, the research arm of the Iranian President's office, and was titled "Report of the first hijab special meeting" in July 2014 in a PDF format. On 2 February 2018, a poll conducted by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) showed that a few Iranians agreed with "changing Iran's political system or relaxing strict Islamic law". An independent survey by GAMAAN conducted in 2020 showed that 58% of Iranians did not believe in hijab altogether, and 72% were against compulsory hijab rules. Only 15% insisted on the legal obligation to wear it in public. Iran is the only country in the world that requires non-Muslim women to wear a headscarf. For example, in January 2018, a
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
female musician was humiliatingly veiled in the middle of her concert performance.


Timeline


December 2017


27 December

On 27 December 2017, pictures and videos of Movahed waving her scarf went viral through the hashtag "Where_is_she?" (, "Where is the girl of Enghelab Street" in Persian) on social media. While at first she was unknown, days later,
Nasrin Sotoudeh Nasrin Sotoudeh ( fa, نسرین ستوده) is a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections as well as prisoners sent ...
, the human rights activist and lawyer who has also been arrested, found out that the woman is 31 years old and was arrested on the spot with her 19-month-old baby.


January 2018


28 January

On 28 January 2018, according to Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lawyer investigating the case, Vida Movahed was released; temporary on bail.


29 January

On 29 January 2018, a woman was arrested in Tehran after reenacting Movahed's protest by standing on the same utility box in Enqelab Street, taking off her white Hijab, and holding it up on a stick. Photos posted on social media show that at least three other women reenacted Movahed's protest in Tehran on 29 January, including one near Ferdowsi Square.


30 January

According to Nasrin Sotoudeh on 30 January 2018, the second woman who was arrested on 29 January 2018 was Narges Hosseini ( fa, نرگس حسینی); her age is 32. On 30 January 2018, several more women, but also men, protested against the compulsory hijab law by reenacting Movahed's protest. This took place in Tehran, as well as other cities as well including
Esfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...
and
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
.


February 2018


1 February

On 1 February 2018 the Iranian Police department announced they had arrested 29 women for taking off their hijab.


2 February

According to Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian lawyer, Narges Hosseini known as the second girl of Enghelab street, who is 32 years old was unable to pay the US$135,000 bail set by the judge presiding over her case, facing a possible 10 years in prison and up to 74 lashes on charges including openly committing a sinful act.


15 February

New photos and video shared on social media shows another woman re-enacting Movahed's protest on the same street, Enghelab Street (Revolution Street) on 15 February 2018 was identified as Azam Jangravi, videos shows that the police took her down aggressively. According to her latest Instagram picture, she said that she was a part of Iranian women Reformists and Executives of Construction Party and has taken no orders from someone either inside or outside the country, she said she has done that to protest against compulsory hijab.


17 February

Narges Hosseini and Azam Jangravi were released from the custody temporary on bail.


21 February

Another female protester named Shaparak Shajarizadeh ( fa, شاپرک شجری زاده) was arrested protesting with a white scarf on Wednesday, 21 February 2018 in a
Gheytarieh Qeytarieh (also spelled Gheytarieh) is an affluent neighbourhood in northern Tehran, located within the larger Shemiran district. Gheytarieh has about 150,000 residents. Qeytarieh is famous for a large park with the same name. Qeytarieh Park w ...
street; eyewitnesses said that the police attacked her from behind and took her in custody. Photos shared on social media shows that the government was placing an inverted v-shaped iron structure on the utility boxes so as to inhibit anyone standing on top of the boxes. She was sentenced to two years in prison in addition to an 18-year suspended prison term. In addition, she stated that she left
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.


22 February

Another woman named Maryam Shariatmadari ( fa, مریم شریعتمداری) was protesting compulsory hijab in the afternoon on a utility box; the police asked her to come down and the woman refused and questioned the police what her crime was, the police replied "disturbing the peace". Then, as she was violently ejected by the police, she was injured and her leg was broken. Shaparak Shajarizadeh was beaten up in custody. She was released later temporary on bail.


24 February

Eyewitnesses said that another women named Hamraz Sadeghi ( fa, همراز صادقی) was protesting compulsory hijab on Saturday, 24 February 2018 when suddenly she was attacked by an unknown security force, her arm was broken and she was arrested.


July 2018


8 July

On 8 July 2018, Iranian teenager Maedeh Hojabri was arrested after she posted videos of herself dancing to Western and Iranian music on her
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
account without her headscarf. She was among several popular Instagram users, with more than 600,000 followers. Her videos were shared by hundreds of people. Several Iranian women posted videos of themselves dancing to protest her arrest.


October 2018


27 October

On 27 October 2018, students in Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch protested after a morality police van entered the campus and attempted to arrest several women for improper hijab. Videos showed a student standing in front of the van, attempting to block its exit, which lead to the driver of the van attempting to run her over.


29 October

On 29 October 2018, an Iranian woman stood on the dome of Enghelab square in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, and removed her headscarf in protest to the compulsory hijab. She was arrested minutes later by the police. On 14 April 2019, it was revealed that she was Vida Movahed, the original Girl of Enghelab Street, that was protesting for the second time.


February 2019


15 February

On 15 February 2019, the morality police attempted to arrest two girls for improper hijab in the Narmak area of Tehran and were met with resistance from bystanders. A group of people gathered around the van, breaking the windows, tearing the door off, and freeing the two girls inside. A video from the incident shows police firing shots into the air to disperse the crowd. Tehran police later confirmed the incident.


March 2019


7 March

On 7 March 2019, two women were arrested in
Kangavar Kangavar ( fa, كنگاور, ''Kangâvar''; also Romanized as Kangāvar) is a city and capital of Kangavar County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 48,901, with 12,220 families. Kangavar is located in the easte ...
after they protested the compulsory hijab by walking the streets of the city without their hijab on.


8 March

On International Women's Day (8 March), groups of women in Tehran appeared unveiled and protested the oppression of women. A video showed two unveiled women holding a red sign, which read "International Women's Day is a promise of a just world for all of humanity", on a
Valiasr Street Valiasr Street ( fa, خیابان ولیعصر) is a tree-lined street in Tehran, Iran, dividing the metropolis into western and eastern parts built in 1922 to 1927, considering the end of asphalt plan it ended in 1933. It is considered one of ...
. Another video showed a group of unveiled women on a
Tehran Metro The Tehran Metro ( fa, مترو تهران, translit=Metro-ye Tehrān) is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is the largest metro system in the Middle East. The system is owned and operated by Tehran Urban and Subur ...
car handing out flowers to passengers.


11 March

On 11 March 2019, a man stood on a box on Enghelab street and waved a white scarf on a stick. He was arrested on the scene by the security forces.


May 2019


13 May

On 13 May 2019, students at the
University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
gathered to protest the increasing pressures to obey the mandatory headscarf rule. Plainclothes vigilantes attacked students who were protesting. Students also carried signs demanding freedom and free elections.


August 2019

In August 2019, Iranian civil rights activist Saba Kord Afshari was sentenced to 24 years behind bars, including a 15-year term for taking off her hijab in public, which Iranian authorities say promoted "corruption and prostitution".


September–November 2022

On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named
Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini,; ku, ژینا ئەمینی, Jîna Emînî died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious mor ...
was killed in custody of the Guidance Patrol in Tehran due to
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
. Many people from all over the world reacted to Amini's death, and sparked a series of anti-hijab protests across the country. On 20 September 2022, 16-year-old Iranian teenager
Nika Shakarami On 20 September 2022, 16-year-old Iranian Nika Shakarami () disappeared in Tehran during the 2022 Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Her family was informed of her death ten days later. She had died under suspicious circumstan ...
(Persian: نیکا شاکرمی) disappeared in Tehran during the 2022 Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Her family was informed of her death ten days later. She had died under suspicious circumstances suspected to involve violence by security forces. Many women demonstrators have defiantly taken off their hijabs and burned them in bonfires or symbolically cut their hair in protest.


Reactions


National

* Iranian chief prosecutor,
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri Mohammad Jafar Montazeri ( fa, محمدجعفر منتظری; born 1949 in Qom) is an Iranian cleric and judge and the current attorney-general of Iran since 1 April 2016. He was previously head of Iran's Administrative Justice Court and Specia ...
reacted to the protests on 31 January 2018 by calling them "trivial" and "childish" moves that were incited by foreigners. * The deputy speaker of parliament,
Ali Motahari Ali Motahhari ( fa, علی مطهری; born 26 January 1958) is an Iranian politician who is known as a conservative and is also named as a sort of conservative reformist, who represented Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr electoral district ...
, said on 31 January 2018 that there was no compulsory hijab in Iran, since women would show up wearing whatever they liked. * A member of the Iranian parliament, Soheila Jolodarzadeh said on 31 January 2018 that the protests resulted from the unnecessary restriction of women. * Iranian
Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
spokesman,
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( fa, غلامحسین محسنی اژه‌ای, Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of I ...
on 4 February 2018 said that some of the arrested women were on "synthetic drugs"; he also declared that if it was proven that their protests were organized, their crime would be much heavier. * President
Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani ( fa, حسن روحانی, Standard Persian pronunciation: ; born Hassan Fereydoun ( fa, حسن فریدون, links=no); 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. ...
said on 11 February, the 39th anniversary of Islamic Revolution, that under the article 59 of the constitution, any conflicts in Iranian society could be resolved with a constitutional referendum. * Iranian senior actress and director Marzieh Boroumand stated on 14 February 2018 that she was against compulsory hijab but she did not support Masih Alinejad's lead on the movement. She believed that Alinejad was trying to connect all protests inside the country to her own by telling the government that the protesters were receiving orders from her. * Nahid Khodakarami, an Iranian midwife and a member of
City Council of Tehran The Islamic City Council of Tehran ( fa, شورای اسلامی شهر تهران) is the directly elected council that presides over the city of Tehran, elects the mayor of Tehran in a mayor–council government system, and budgets of the M ...
said that choosing their own clothes is the simplest right that women could have. Her reaction to the video of Azam Jangravi's arrest was "Which one has more sin, the hairs of Azam Jangravi or that man's hand?" * An academic – "Who and based on what article of the law allowed the police to eject that woman like that?", asked
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh Abdollah Ramezanzadeh ( fa, عبدالله رمضان‌زاده) is an Iranian academic, writer and politician. An ethnic Kurdish, he is the former spokesman and secretary of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the presidenc ...
on 22 February 2018. *
Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei Shirazi ( fa, سید مهدی طباطبایی شیرازی, March 21, 1936 — May 17, 2018) was an Iranian Shia cleric and conservative politician who served as member of the Parliament of Iran from 2004 to 2008, represen ...
, an Iranian Shia cleric reacted to the arrests on 22 February 2018 by saying that hijab was a requirement in Islam, while questioning the act of forcing it on people. * The
Iranian police , mottotranslated = "Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity" ( Heraldry slogan) , formedyear = 1991 , formedmonthday = April 1 , preceding1 = Shahrbani (1913–1991)Gendarmerie (1910–1991)Committee (1979–1991) , em ...
officially warned on 23 February 2018 that the punishment of removing hijabs was of up to 10 years of imprisonment, based on Article 639 of the law. * The Ghanoon (The Law) Newspaper published a main page article on 24 February 2018 written by Mehrshad Imani, titled "Let's not call hijabless people prostitutes," based on Article 639 of the law. *In a speech at the University of Isfahan in 2018, Farhad Meysamy called the Girls of Enghelab Street movement an example of civil non-violence movements.


International

*
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
on 24 January 2018 called on the Iranian government to free the arrested woman unconditionally. On 2 February 2018 Amnesty International repeated their statement to release six human rights defenders including protester Shima Babaei, who was arrested on 1 February 2018. *
Heather Nauert Heather Ann Nauert (born January 27, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and former government official who served as Spokesperson for the United States Department of State in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. She is a s ...
, spokeswoman of the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
, issued a statement on 2 February 2018 condemning "the reported arrests of at least 29 individuals for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms by standing up against the compulsory hijab." * On 6 February 2018, a campaign on social media with the hashtag #NoHijabDay trended, with women from around the world burning their hijabs in solidarity with Iranian women forced to wear hijab. * The director of the Middle East Program at
Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...
, Haleh Esfandiari an Iranian-born American based in Washington stated in a February 2018 interview with
Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...
that her opinion was that the protests were causing a stir but were not a movement yet. * Sarah Leah Whitson, former director of the Middle East division of
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, requested on 24 February 2018 for the Iranian government to drop the charges against the protesters. * 45
Members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...
on 28 February 2018 called on EU Foreign Policy Chief
Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...
to support the Iranian Women's Anti-Compulsory-Hijab Protests.


See also

*
Death of Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini,; ku, ژینا ئەمینی, Jîna Emînî died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious mor ...
*
Guidance Patrol The Guidance Patrol ( fa, گشت ارشاد, translit=gašt-e eršād) or morality police is a vice squad / Islamic religious police in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran, established in 2005 with the task of arresting ...
, Iran's morality police *
Homa Darabi Homa Darabi ( fa, هما دارابی; 1940–1994) was an Iranian pediatrician, academic, and political activist affiliated with the Nation Party of Iran. She is known for her political self-immolation in protest to the Hijab by country#Iran, ...
*
Mahsa Amini protests Civil unrest and protests against the government of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini ( fa, مهسا امینی) began on 16 September 2022 and are ongoing as of December 2022. Amini had been arrested by the Guida ...


Notes


References


External links


Iranians Stand Up Against Hijab
''
Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
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