Publication of Photos of Women Without Mandatory Hijab; 'Freedom is a Daily Practice'

Simultaneously with the Islamic Republic's efforts to enforce mandatory hijab, a group of women are sharing their photos without the mandatory hijab in public spaces on social media with the common phrase 'Freedom is a daily practice.' Although these users have openly published their photos on social media, Voice of America obscures their faces to protect their safety and prevent identification. Following the nationwide protests that began after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police last September, some women and girls refuse to comply with the mandatory hijab and appear in public places with their preferred attire. Although the presence of morality police in the streets has diminished since the onset of the protests, the Islamic Republic has adopted other methods, including implementing the 'Chastity and Hijab' plan and closing businesses and commercial units. The Islamic Republic's attempts to impose mandatory hijab, conducted under the banner of 'enjoining good and forbidding wrong,' recently claimed a victim when a female tourist lost her life following a confrontation over hijab enforcement in Shahzadeh Garden in Kerman. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has recently declared non-compliance with the mandatory hijab as 'religiously forbidden' and 'politically forbidden.' However, religious authorities have differing opinions on this issue. Homayoun Katouzian, a university professor, previously told Voice of America that if prayer and fasting are not mandatory and do not constitute a crime, why should hijab be mandatory?