Iranian women remove their hijabs for stealthy freedom Facebook page...

3^min

Women in Iran have been posting pictures of themselves after 'stealthily' removing their hijabs in public, in a country where it is illegal under the Islamic law for a female to be seen in public without wearing a headscarf.

Over 150 photos have been posted so far to the Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women Facebook page which has garnered more than 140,000 likes since it was create a week ago by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad.

Alinejad, who left Iran in 2009, told The Independent that the page began when she posted a picture of herself driving without wearing a headscarf, followed by the caption: “Hijab is being forced on women not only by the Morality Police, but also out of consideration for family, through wanting to keep a job and because of fear of judgment from others."

In the photos, which Alinejad publishes without including full names, women can be seen after taking off their hijabs, along with a few words about the lack of freedom in forcing them to wear a hijab, or what it means to be briefly removing it in public.

The site is dedicated to Iranian women inside the country "who want to share their 'stealthily' taken photos without the veil".

Alinejad said: "It is a basic right for any person to have freedom of choice. Women in Iran, along with many other countries, want to choose what they can wear. It should not be enforced."

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani has expressed more progressive views than his predecessors since his election. On the subject of the strict Islamic dress code that includes the hijab, he said he rejects any crackdown on women wearing looser clothing in the sweltering summers.

"If a women or a man does not adhere by our rules for clothing, his or her virtue should not be questioned. In my opinion, many women in our society who do not respect our hijab laws as virtuous. Our emphasis should be on the virtue."

However, more conservative men and women have staged protests in Tehran demanding authorities act on women wearing what they call a “bad” hijab.