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Hijab is merely a custom that, by force of tradition, has turned into a religious symbol — nothing more. The early Quranic interpreters, who favored transmission over reason due to their limited knowledge and weak analytical abilities at the time, interpreted the so-called “verses of hijab” without considering their historical context or the reasons behind their revelation.
Footage showing an Iranian woman stripping to her underwear at a Tehran university in protest of the country’s strict clothing laws, and her subsequent arrest, shows that fundamentalists over the world share a common terror of the female body existing in its own right.
Iranian authorities are enforcing Islamic dress norms with renewed vigor and the backing of a new law, and insist a “hostile West” is goading Iranian women into living indecent lives.
Women in the Islamic Republic are fighting to recover social rights and freedoms granted some 80 years ago by a monarchy that was once reviled and is now keenly missed by younger generations.
The Iranian regime’s repression of students and universities has reached one of its highest point in the post-revolution era, as authorities are determined to nip any unrest in the bud, and push on with plans to make society even more repressively Islamist.
Two different cases of hijab controversies in India show there is one thing that is consistent, which is to impose on people at the margins an idea of “uniformity.”
September 11 – September 17, 2023
Media coverage of Iran’s mass protests of 2022 failed to truly show how most Iranians thought about the hijab or a general dress code for women. Centering the whole fight for justice in Iran around the headscarf has its risks.
Here are the 10 most-read articles of the past year: Escape From Foxconn: Inside The COVID Lockdown Chaos Blocking China’s iPhone Production THE INITIUM Around China, Zero-COVID policy has shut down entire towns and workplaces. But in the high-tech Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, famous for cranking out iPhones, employees were forced to work even if […]
Worldcrunch asked its staff to choose the articles published this year that made a particular impression on them. They largely cover the major events that marked the news in 2022, from the war in Ukraine to the protests in Iran and the overturning of Roe v Wade in the U.S. Here are the 10 stories […]
Several Muslim women who wear hijabs share their stories to highlight the discrimination, from disapproving looks to outright insults, they face everyday in India in both their personal and professional lives.
Reported declarations by some Iranian officials on revising the notorious morality police patrols and obligatory dress codes for women are suspect both in their authenticity, and ultimately not even close to addressing the demands of Iranian protesters.
Reports from Tehran suggest that some senior officials may be “quietly” taking exile in the South American nation led by Nicolas Maduro, a trusted ally of the Iranian regime.
After 50 days of unrest, Iranian police and security forces are being spread thin by persistent anti-state protests. Eager to avoid further recrimination, officials have begun a blame game that could spiral.
Mass demonstrations and civil disobedience continue to take place in Iran, shaking both its ruling regime and the world. But beyond the headlines, gauging what effects they will really have is a trickier exercise. Mada Masr asked Iranian political scientist Fatemeh Sadeghi about the biggest acts of civil disobedience Iran has seen in decades.
In the aftermath of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police mid-September for not wearing her hijab properly, many Iranians have taken the streets in nationwide protests. Independent Egyptian media Mada Masr spoke to one of the protesters.
The latest round of anti-regime protests in Iran is different than other in the 40 years of the Islamic Republic: for its universality and boldness, the level of public fury and grief, and the role of women and social media. The target is not some policy or the economy, but the regime itself.
The 22-year-old is believed to have been beaten to death at a Tehran police station last week after “morality police” had reprimanded her clothing. The case has sparked the nation’s outrage. But as ordinary Iranians testify, such beatings, torture and a home brand of misogyny are hallmarks of the 40-year Islamic Republic of Iran.
Regardless of rising summer temperatures, Iran’s Islamic authorities say they’ll be punishing women not properly dressed and veiled at work. But some women are resisting.
? Bonjou!* Welcome to Thursday, where Libya’s prime minister survives an assassination attempt, Belarus and Russia start joint military drills and a Republican congresswoman spills her gazpacho. Fasten your seatbelts, we’re also looking at the world of private jet travel, a means of transportation that soared during the pandemic. [*Haitian Creole] SIGN UP This […]
For those aiming to serve the Islamic Republic of Iran as experts to train the public morality agents, there are now courses to obtain the “proper” training.
“I’m not against hijab in principle; I myself wear it,’ says one mother. ‘But I refuse to have my daughter wear it against her will.”
The controversy over France’s Decathlon athletic hijab is a symbol for misunderstood secularism. Let’s leave the regulation of clothing to those who practice it so well, from Saudi Arabia to the Taliban.
MONTREAL — The video lasted just seven seconds, but it was enough to unleash a fury of online outrage. “They could have chosen anyone else to make an ad,” one Facebook user wrote. “Things start to stink a hell of a lot when governments and big companies push the neighbor’s religion on us …” The […]
The hijab still makes Western societies squirm. Passing someone wearing the Islamic headscarf is too often seen as proof that Muslim women are “docile, oppressed, silenced,” notes Hend Amry, a practicing Muslim and activist who writes about why she wears a hijab. But, for better or worse, things are changing. Entire new lines of products […]
KISH — The island of Kish is a far cry from the rest of Iran. Although it’s just 19 kilometers from the mainland, this Persian Gulf outpost features the kind of open hedonism that would be shocking in other parts of the country. As hard-line politicians and religious figures target so-called Western imports such as […]
TEHRAN — “Indecent dressing,” or “bad hijabi” in Persian, isn’t worse than before in Iran, according to a deputy-governor of the Tehran province. Shahabeddin Chavoshi, who is responsible in the capital province for social and political affairs, chided critics who accuse the government of Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rouhani of neglecting public morals. “Studies show […]
Radicalized Islamic men aren’t the only ones punishing non-compliant civilians in Syria. Now women zero in on other women for not following the group’s strict brand of Sharia law.
CASABLANCA – Saturday September 1st was a sunny day, the afternoon sky was blue and the summer holidays not quite over. A young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ajouhi wanted to bring their six and three-year-old children to the Tahiti Beach Club on the Corniche Boulevard in Casablanca, Morocco. Established in 1940 and currently owned by […]
MOSCOW – It’s hard to shake the feeling that the idea of reinstating mandatory school uniforms has been discussed on and off ever since school uniforms were abandoned two decades ago. To recall the discussion last spring: The Duma came to the conclusion that uniforms could ease tensions between social classes at school, and even […]