Author: Azhar Shaik & Rahul Ajnoti

Hijab: A Symbol of Choice or Social Oppression?
Asia, Featured, Middle East, World

Hijab: A Symbol of Choice or Social Oppression?

Hijab has been one of the most tweeted and searched keywords on the internet in the past few months. After the students’ protest in Karnataka in early 2022, the question of the Hijab regained public consciousness after the death of Mahsa Amini in the state of Iran. Late Ms Amini was a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was visiting Tehran and living her life peacefully without hurting or violating anyone’s rights and freedoms. Yet, she was arrested by the ‘Morality Police’ of Iran, detained and tortured until she died due to grave injuries to her head. Her death became the catalyst for hundreds and thousands of women facing strict restrictions and oppression from the Iranian clergy. With the slogan ‘Women, Life, Liberty,’ demonstrators have gone to the streets, removing their veils or cutt...