‘If you can bring down the compulsory hijab, you can bring down all of Iran’: activist Masih Alinejad

The Iranian-American journalist and activist says the ongoing anti-hijab protests in Iran are the first steps towards removing the Islamic republic’s Sharia-based system

From her home in exile in the U.S., journalist-activist Masih Alinejad, 46, has been at the forefront of the movement against Iran’s restrictive hijab laws, supporting and encouraging women who demand the right to dress as they please. As protests spread over the custodial death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, brutally assaulted and arrested by Iran’s ‘morality police’ for not covering her hair ‘properly’, Alinejad, famous for her angry, corkscrew curls, is helping to ignite international outrage with her hashtags #WhiteWednesdays, #MyCameraIsMyWeapon and #MyStealthyFreedom.

In July, the Iranian government, which has described the protests as “scattered riots” that have been “designed by enemies” of the country, passed a rule that made the sharing of photos and videos of hijab removal with Alinejad a punishable offence carrying up to 10 years in prison.

In an email interview, the author of  The Wind in my Hair says the defiance of Iran’s Islamic regime has reached a point of no return. Edited excerpts:

The current protests in Iran are widespread and not dying down after nearly two months of the custodial killing of Mahsa Amini. The Islamic Republic has painted itself into a corner — it can brutally crack down on its youth and women and kill more people and create even more anger among the population. Or it can allow the hijab to be a choice. This would be an ideological defeat for the regime and it will be seen as the first step to removing the Sharia-law-based system.

Elnaz was forced to come back. Her brother was arrested and threatened with jail, torture and worse. But when she returned, she was received by thousands of well-wishers. And the next day, she refused to wear the hijab when she met the sports minister — she wore a baseball cap and a hoodie instead. Her family’s life is in danger. Three years ago at Stanford University, I predicted that the next revolution in Iran would be led by women. And what we are seeing now is women breaking the law, engaging in civil disobedience. And if you can bring down the compulsory hijab, you can bring down all of the Islamic Republic.

I became an activist at 18 when I ended up in jail for spraying slogans on walls and publishing a high school newsletter. But once I had my son, I gave that up. Eventually, I made it as a journalist, and although I was always critical [of the Iranian government], I thought I could help reform the system. We made incremental gains but even that became impossible by 2009.

I was expelled from the parliament for revealing how much Members of Parliament were receiving as extra payments. But that made me an even bigger name in Iranian journalism circles and I became a very popular political columnist. In 2009, during the controversial presidential election [where President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was declared the winner], I was forced to leave the country. I thought I would return soon because I was sure the reformists were going to win. I was divorced at that time and had only partial custody of my son. I never thought I was leaving him behind for a long time. The election result was disputed, Opposition members were jailed and I watched from New York as the crackdown destroyed that early attempt at democracy. I was stuck in the U.S., my son was in Iran. I had to smuggle him out during the crackdown on Green Movement activists and we moved to the city of Oxford.