An Iranian woman went viral on social media after she had a confrontation with a cleric, who berated her for not wearing a hijab at an airport in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where the woman angrily tore off his turban and wore it like a scarf in an act of protest.
A video shared on social media shows an unveiled Iranian woman arguing with a cleric at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. The woman is seen taking the cleric’s turban and using it as a headscarf.
The exact date of the video and the reason for the altercation remain unclear. pic.twitter.com/yLclkCMd04— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 6, 2025
The confrontation took place when the cleric reproached the woman for not wearing the mandatory hijab as she was looking for her husband in the waiting lounge of Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport. The exact date and cause of the initial confrontation remains unclear.
In the video, widely shared on Iranian social media, the woman angrily and swiftly removed the cleric’s white turban from his head. She then wrapped it around her head as a makeshift scarf to make a point, even saying to the cleric, "So you have honor now?”
“Oh, Iranian men, I s--- in your honor,” she also shouted, seemingly in response to the men watching the scene unfold without coming to her aid.
“That’s it, that’s it, I want this ... Where is my husband? Where is my man?” she said as she continued to look for him, calling him by name and asking, "What did you do to my husband?"
These poor women have no more fucks to give. I wish I could help them all.
— Tammy (@tam8261) January 7, 2025
The incident came at an increasingly tense time for the Islamic Republic at home and abroad. The regime suffered significantly following Israel’s devastating war with Hezbollah, one of its most powerful and influential proxies in the Middle East, and the fall of major ally Bashar Al-Assad in Syria following surprising offensives by the Syrian Opposition.
The regime also continues to suffer opposition from Iranian women due to the increasingly contentious mandatory hijab laws, as the Iranian government continues to find ways to enforce the unpopular law and as Iranian women continue to disobey it, despite possible repercussions.
Last December, the Iranian regime postponed the implementation of a new and highly controversial hijab law that would impose more severe penalties against women found guilty of violating the law, following intense backlash from both Iranians and the international community.
Despite calls from Rouhollah Momen-Nasab, secretary of the Tehran Headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, for the implementation of the law before summer, the Iranian government, under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, is still hesitant to enforce it, likely due to concerns about a possible backlash.
If only real men would stand up- this would be over. Why are women the only ones resisting? (Or so it seams to me)
— (((alex))) (@AlexAmselem) January 6, 2025
Mashregh News, a media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed the incident was unrelated to hijab and the woman had “psychological issues.”
According to the media outlet, the woman was arrested but was released “with the consent of the complainants.”
Many Iranian netizens countered Mashregh’s claims and interpreted the confrontation as a powerful act of protest. Some described it as a "remarkable protest performance,” and the woman received widespread support on social media.
One user praised the woman for her "transformation of the turban into a mandatory scarf" as an innovative act of resistance against the mandatory hijab laws.
Genuine question - if a woman in Iran completely shaves her head (or 'plucks' it all out, as shaving may be haram I guess), or has alopecia, does she still have to cover her head?
— & (@Permagardenet) January 7, 2025
“The heartbreaking part of this story is that this lived experience is unique to Iranian women,” one Iranian social media user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“God knows how many times each of us reaches this breaking point every day. Men can never understand the immense pressure a woman faces and the overwhelming feeling she experiences that leads her to rebel. They label you as ‘crazy,’ and that’s it.” one social media user also lamented.
The video was also shared by international news outlets, such as Iran International and Kan 11, an Israeli media outlet, who both framed the confrontation as an act of protest.
