Opinion| Get to Know the Woman Whose Hair Frightens the Islamic Republic

Masih Alinejad’s hair has frightened Iran’s leaders, and this matter has caught the attention of Washington as well.

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, in outlining a new strategy against Iran, referred to the protests of Iranian women against mandatory hijab and said it appears that “the ruthless men of the regime are specifically terrified of Iranian women who seek their rights.”

Masih Alinejad, a journalist and civil activist, has played an effective role in shaping these protests. Although she now lives in Brooklyn, New York, the clergy in Tehran fear her.

Alinejad recently told me: “The ideology of the Islamic Republic has held our bodies and hair hostage for 40 years.” She speaks of “regime change,” but adds “women have taken action over the past four years. We are tired of negotiations; we take to the streets to reclaim our rights.”

Her peaceful protest is a threat unlike other challenges facing the declining regime of the mullahs.

Alinejad, pointing to 2.5 million members of her social media pages, says she now has “more followers than all of Khamenei, Rouhani, and Zarif combined on social networks.”

One of these members who was arrested during a protest against mandatory hijab told his interrogators: “I don’t work for her. Masih works for me.”

Aside from the consultations Alinejad receives from her husband Kambiz Forouhar, she largely manages everything herself.

Masih now hosts a program called “Tablet” in the Persian service of Voice of America, and her autobiography titled “Wind in My Hair” will be published next week.

When women in widespread protests disregard religious regulations imposed by men, the ugly chapter of Islamic Republic rule in Iran’s glorious history will come to an end.

Source: Voice of America