43 year-old Masih Alinejad currently lives in New York City, in exile from her home country. She has been disowned by her family on national television, her brother facing criminal charges because of her groundbreaking social media campaign. Masih is fighting a war fought by thousands of women against the Islamic Republic of Iran. And after arranging the largest civil disobedience campaign for women’s rights in the entire history of Iran, Masih Alinejad is not backing down.
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 shook the Middle East to its very core. The triumph of the Iranian people over the United Kingdom and United States-backed Mohammad Reza Shah sent shock waves through the entire region and fundamentally changed the role and strategic position of Iran in modern-day global politics. But one of the most notable of the changes that spurred from the historical moment was a drastic shift within the country’s governance to Sharia law, or religious law based on the Islamic principles found within the Quran. Newly-appointed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni rose to power in 1979 and oversaw the substantial transition within the legal system to one based on ancient religious tradition.
Some of the most substantial of these legal changes were felt by women all across the country, with the lawful age of marriage being reduced to nine years old, men being entitled to instant divorce and full custody of children, and one of the most notable in today’s feminist movement: the compulsory hijab. Married women cannot leave the country without the permission of their husbands, women cannot play many sports or even watch men play sports, and female Iranian singers are barred from singing on stage if they are not accompanied by a man.
The removal of all government-funded daycare programs pushed many women to stay at home instead of pursuing their careers and those in government were given shorter terms and constantly disqualified from running for president.
Despite Khomeni’s oppressive regime, his leaving office in 1989 paved the way for 16 years of marginal improvement for women all across the country. Women were harassed less on the street, they were permitted to become advisors in family court, the age of marriage was raised to 13, unaccompanied women were permitted to study abroad, and a record number of women were being elected to parliament.
But the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to presidency in 2005 quickly reversed all of the positive changes made in the country for Iranian women. Citizens saw the shutting down of Zanan, the country’s largest feminist magazine, and women were increasingly being arrested for dress code violations. As Ahmadinejad was suspiciously re-elected in 2009, he saw the uprising of what mass-media calls the Persian Spring, or the Green Movement. Millions of people all over Iran took to the streets to protest Ahmadinejad’s election and demanded that he be removed from the presidency. Their quest for democracy was largely supported by women all over Iran. Members of the feminist movement were at the forefront of the Green Revolution, but they were met with extensive violence and persecution by the Iranian government. Government officials took to using show trials, shockingly similar to Joseph Stalin’s infamous trials in the 1930s, to warn protesters of the dangers of their actions and repress the movement further. Allegations of rape and torture in detainment centers have been made by hundreds and many have been killed at the hands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
It is often cited that Iran is in an “Era of Moderation” in regard to foreign policy, as exemplified by the country’s compliance with the Iran Nuclear Deal of 2015. But the country has shown little improvement in the way they handle human and women’s rights. The election of Hassan Rouhani resulted in the freedom of a handful of political activists, journalists, and lawyers as well as three women being appointed to parliament.
2014 marked the beginning of Masih Alinejad’s historical “My Stealthy Freedom” social media campaign. The organization fights for women’s rights-- the forefront of their demands being the removal of compulsory hijab in Iran. The campaign has spurred White Wednesdays, in which citizens wear white every Wednesday to fight back against compulsory hijab. The campaign has reached over 10 million people within Iran along through social media and encourages women and activists within Iran to document their struggles with the repressive government and post them online for the world to see. Alinejad has succeeded in putting an immense amount of pressure on the Iranian government, which has resulted in her family being forced to publicly denounce her on television and multiple death sentences.
Last winter, I had the pleasure of meeting Masih Alinejad in person. Her beautiful, curly hair held a small yellow flower. She wears that flower everywhere-- a symbol of her persistence and strength. I remember the way she recounted her experience with the Iranian government-- how when she got in trouble with her employer for singing a song, she sang to him louder. When she sang for us, her voice held the purest, most admirable strength I’ve heard in my life. It is a voice of beauty and suffering, pain and power. After being put through such immense loss and pain, she continues to fight. She writes: “I've learnt through trial and error to see both success and failure as temporary. I don't get too elated by my success and am not devastated by any setback. Tomorrow is another day. But it is our scars that make us stronger or as the German philosopher Nietzsche said, "What doesn't kill me, will only make stronger."”
Masih Alinejad has become the face of an extremely nuanced and revolutionary campaign. She is fighting for and amongst thousands-- even millions of Iranian women who are fighting for the chance to finally feel the wind in their hair.
Please Visit Masih’s Website:
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