In December 2017, in the Revolution Street of Tehran, back then an unknown feminist activist, stood on the utility box, tied her headscarf to a stick, and waved it to the crowd. In less than a month, in other streets and cities, women and...
moreIn December 2017, in the Revolution Street of Tehran, back then an unknown feminist activist, stood on the utility box, tied her headscarf to a stick, and waved it to the crowd. In less than a month, in other streets and cities, women and men did the same anti-compulsory hijāb performance. Coincided with the uprising against the government, the images of the unveiled woman went viral. Consequently, the "Daughters of the Revolution," as a non-movement was born and became the symbol of the anti-government uprising, while they had apparent distinguished roots and demands. This momentum opened new directions for political activism and drastically affected the discourse of the feminist movement in Iran. What makes a simple (un)veiling performance such strong and significant for the feminist movement and political protests? In this presentation, I delve further into this question through retracing and unveiling the less visible narratives of women protests in Iran. For more than a century, women in Iran have struggled to raise their voices in public, resist patriarchy, religious fanaticism, and domestic violence. Confronting the Iranian state's discriminatory policies, women have demanded their rights, albeit with various strategies, due to their differences in the perspectives, political projects, and approaches in addressing gender inequality and women's conditions. This very encapsulated and inevitably uncomprehensive narrative aims to contribute to a subjective history of contemporary women's struggles by putting the female body and its performance at the heart of the political contestations.
