Source: CNN
By Hannah Ritchie, CNN
Editor’s Note: CNN is committed to covering gender inequality wherever it occurs in the world. This story is part of As Equals, a year-long series.
A young woman stands on top of a utility box, holding a white headscarf aloft in front of a crowd of one-eyed monsters, her medusa-like hair cascading over her shoulders.
The scene comes from an animated video created by Samin, a 32-year-old motion graphics animator from Tehran, with the help of her boyfriend, an illustrator. Together the couple have been protesting Iran’s compulsory hijab rule with their art.
“Since we are artists, our language is our form of protest. We are hopeful that our videos can provide a voice for Iranian women,” Samin told CNN. Her name has been changed to protect her identity.
For Samin, sharing her art on social media is the safest way to show her solidarity with the movement against Iran’s mandatory headscarf law — part of an Islamic dress code that was enforced after the 1979 revolution against the Shah’s secular regime.
At least 33 people have been arrested for taking part in protests since late December, when a wave of anti-government demonstrations gave way to a public outcry over gender inequality.
Categories: Hijab, Iran, Middle East, The Muslim Times