Anti-government protests have entered their third week in Iran despite severe internet restrictions and a heavy crackdown that human rights groups said has killed dozens.
"This is the first time that women in a large number, standing shoulder to shoulder with men, are burning their headscarves," said Alinjead, who runs an online campaign called"," sharing images of girls and women in Iran flouting the hijab rules."[The hijab] is the main pillar of the Islamic Republic, so they strongly believe that by burning headscarves, they're actually shaking the regime.
Women who have been demonstrating want to have the choice of whether or not to wear the hijab, according to Azadeh Pourzand, co-founder of the US-based"It's about essentially women feeling humiliated and women feeling forced to do something that they may or may not want to do," said Pourzand, who is also a PhD researcher at the University of London focusing on women's activism in Iran.
Still, Pourzand pointed out that the protests have united Iranians across different ages, ethnicities and cities. Demonstrators are calling not only for women's rights but they are also protesting political repression, corruption, Iran's battered economy and a climate crisis stemming from mismanagement.
Young Iranians demonstrating in the streets believe"history will judge those democratic countries who can help us but decided to help our murderers," she said, adding,"They're saying, … 'We are ready to die for the future of Iran, for having a better country to live.'"
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