Opinion | Meet the woman whose hair scares the Islamic Republic
Masih Alinejad's hair has frightened Iranian leaders, and this has also come to the attention of Washington.
In outlining the new strategy against Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to Iranian women's protests against the mandatory hijab, saying that "it seems that the regime's ruthless men are clearly terrified of Iranian women who are demanding their rights."
Masih Alinejad, a journalist and civil rights activist, has played an influential role in shaping these protests. Although he now lives in Brooklyn, New York, clerics in Tehran fear him.
“The ideology of the Islamic Republic has held our bodies and hair hostage for 40 years,” Alinejad told me recently. She talks about “regime change,” but adds, “Women have taken action over the past four years. We are tired of negotiating, we are taking to the streets to reclaim our rights.”
His peaceful protest is a danger like any other threat to the declining regime of the mullahs.
Referring to the 2.5 million members of his social media pages, Alinejad says, "I now have more members on social networks than Khamenei, Rouhani, and Zarif combined."
One of these members, who was arrested while protesting against the mandatory hijab, told interrogators: "I don't work for him. Christ works for me."
Aside from the advice Alinejad receives from his wife, Kambiz Forouhar, he mostly manages everything himself.
Masih now has a program on the Persian section of the Voice of America called "Tablet," and his life story book, "The Wind in My Hair," will be published next week.
When women defy religious regulations imposed by men in a massive protest, the ugly chapter of the Islamic Republic's rule in Iran's glorious history will come to an end.
Source: Voice of America
