March 8th Is International Woman's Day: Support a Worthy Cause

In honor of International Women’s Day, I am spreading awareness about a worthy cause on Twitter and Facebook: #MyStealthyFreedom

This growing movement focuses on the right for individual Iranian women to choose whether or not they want to wear a hijab, which is compulsory in Iran. Imagine if your government forced you- FORCED YOU- to cover your head. How would that make you feel?

Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad, is a critical thinker who isn't afraid to ask probing questions. She began the My Stealthy Freedom movement on May 3, 2014. On the website is the following quote: “Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 women in Iran have had to cover their hair in public, but many Iranian women and men feel that wearing a hijab in public should be a personal choice.”

The Facebook page was created to allow women in Iran to share photos of themsleves revealing their hair (some even bravely showing their faces). The website contains an archive of photos and videos shared by these women, and the positive and negative media coverage received from Iran as well as the international community.

The Huffington Post interviewed Alinejad, who admits to having always wondered why freedom was allotted to her older brothers, but not herself. As a child, she wanted to ride her bike and swim, but was not allowed to do so.

In high school, Alinejad joined a political group that produced a newsletter about democracy and equality. Sadly, she and the members of the group were arrested.

Western women may sometimes take their freedom for granted. We see ourselves as equals to men, enjoy independence (politically, socially, and economically), and do pretty much as we please. To many women around the world, this is not the case. This International Women’s Day, I encourage everyone to support a worthy female cause because we all deserve equal rights.

As always, thank you for reading and PLEASE share this article.

C. De Melo