Celebrities cutting off locks of their hair in solidarity with Iran’s ‘Feminist Revolution’

As Iran’s “Feminist Revolution” enters its third week of street protests against the authoritarian Islamist regime, renowned screen and movie stars from around the world have started cutting their hair in solidarity.

Core items:

• Women’s hair is considered a “symbol of honor and dignity” in Iran.
• The symbolic gesture also has echoes in local history and folklore
• A museum in Rome is collecting locks of hair to present to the Iranian embassy

Activists and experts say the law is a specific response to enforcement of dress restrictions, but also has roots in local history and folklore.

The protests were initially triggered by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the Iranian moral police in September for violating the regime’s dress code.

From the beginning, haircuts by Iranian demonstrators have been a symbol of resistance.

According to US-based Persian literary critic Waheed Siddiqi, cutting off strands of hair is a specific act of protest against the introduction of veils.

“The religious leaders in Iran have made the veil compulsory for women and girls to fully cover the hair, which is considered a symbol of honor and dignity, but this action by the activists simply blew up the whole concept of this violent imposition,” Herr said Siddiqi.

Demonstrations condemning the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody have spread outside the Iranian capital and into regional areas.(`: Hawar News Agency)

Rouzbeh Nabipourshiri, an Iranian refugee living in Melbourne, told ABC that by cutting off strands of hair the protesters hoped to show they would not give up their call to uproot the regime.

“Unlike the previous waves of demonstrations, this ‘feminist revolution’ is not afraid to confront the regime,” he said.

Mr. Nabipourshiri was part of the “Green Movement” in Iran in 2009 and subsequent protests influenced by the Arab Spring.

He said the women and girls showed their determination to fight to the end and sacrifice everything for freedom.

“The protesters have no hope for incremental improvements or reforms, so they are demanding a complete overhaul and an end to the oppressive regime from the religious leaders,” he said.

#HairForFreedom

On Wednesday, Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, along with other French film and music stars, posted videos on social media of themselves cutting locks off their own hair in solidarity.

“For freedom,” Binoche said, as she used scissors to clip a large handful of hair from the crown of her head before swinging it in front of the camera.

The video, tagged #HairForFreedom, includes images of Iran gripped by anti-government protests.

Images of women cutting their hair elsewhere to show solidarity with Iranian women have gone viral – from Turkish singer Melek Mosso on stage last week, to women in Lebanon and Syria, to Swedish lawmaker Abir Al-Sahlani in the Rooms of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

A museum in Rome is collecting strands of hair to present to the Iranian embassy.

“For women in Iran, cutting their hair is a form of protest…a symbol to oppose the mandatory hijab,” said Dorna Javan, an Iranian political scientist based in France who specializes in Iran Has.

Such a visual gesture is a way for women around the world to speak out on the plight of Iranian women, she added.

The protesters’ demands have turned into demands for an end to the ruling regime. (Reuters)

The videos of Cotillard, Binoche and dozens of other women cutting off strands of hair were compiled and posted on an Instagram account called “soutienfemmesiran” – which translates to “support women in Iran”.

“These women, these men are asking for our support. Their courage and dignity oblige us,” says a post with the video.

“We have decided to respond to the appeal addressed to us by cutting some of those locks – including us.”

Some of the other women involved were actresses Charlotte Rampling and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who was also filmed cutting a strand of hair from the head of her mother, singer Jane Birkin.

In The Shahnameh, a princess cuts her hair in protest after her husband dies. (Supplied to: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford)

This highly symbolic gesture is also reminiscent of Iranian history and folklore, where women cut their hair in protest.

The Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) – a national epic of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between 977 and 1010 AD – refers to a princess who cuts her hair to protect against the death of her to protest against a man she felt was unfair.

“Women cutting their hair is an ancient Persian tradition, also found in The Shahnameh, when anger outweighs the oppressor’s might,” tweeted Shara Atashi, an Iranian writer based in Wales.

Ms Javan described this as a “benevolent gesture” and called for more decisive political action by the international community in support of the Iranian protesters.

“We cannot reduce the struggle of Iranian women for their rights – which dates back to the second half of the 19th century – to the gesture of cutting their hair,” she said.

“But these viral videos are a way to give their fight international impact.”

One of the protesters in Iran told ABC the demonstrations continued despite internet blocking by the Iranian authorities.

“We have a lot of internet problems, the web proxies are almost all down and most of the time almost no access to WhatsApp’s messaging platforms,” ​​Neda Allahverdi said shortly after returning home from a late-night protest in Tehran.

She said the agitation has spread to smaller towns and villages across Iran, where women and girls have risen up against the regime.

Protests also took place in other countries, including Australia and Lebanon. (` Photo: Hassan Ammar)

Regime does not resign

Earlier this week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke his silence on the protests, condemning what he called “riots” and accusing the US and Israel of being behind the agitation.

“These riots were planned,” he said.

Earlier this month, during a speech in Tehran, the ayatollah said Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody was a “sad incident”.

Iranian activist Nabipourshiri said the ayatollah’s comments indicated the regime had no intention of bowing to protesters’ demands.

“This is an open-ended movement led by Iranian women and girls. No one can predict the outcome,” he said.

ABC/`