In the midst of the ongoing news and social media discussion regarding Iran’s developments, I found myself wondering, have I seen this before? Is it just a Déjà vu or have I actually lived and experienced these feelings before? How is it possible that with all the social media involvement and documentation of events no one has mentioned the similarities yet?
Let me begin by refreshing your memory about that recorded video from an aerial view showing a woman trying to flee from the Square, only to stumble and fall to the ground. The police forces caught up to her and beat her severely. No less than 5 soldiers began stomping her and hitting her with their batons. As they began dragging her away, her abaya (full-body dress cover) fell off her body exposing a ‘properly’ dressed woman, revealing her stomach and blue bra. The soldiers continued stomping her body, though she seemed unconscious they kept exposing her to take away her honor. Photos of the men bringing their heavy boots down on her stomach made the front page of newspapers around the world.
Thousands of women – and men – marched on Cairo’s Tahrir Square in response. Making sure that the way women dress has nothing to do with women’s honor. Reporters said that it was the largest demonstration of women in Egypt in decades. Not since 1919, have so many Egyptian women taken to the streets. That was the time when feminist Huda Sha’rawi led the Egyptian women in anti-colonial demonstrations against the British forces. After representing Egyptian women in Rome in 1923, Sha’rawi returned to Cairo and very publicly removed her veil. Back then a crowd of admiring women applauded Huda. These women couldn’t help but applaud her and join her movement in taking off their head covers.
The backfire
A blue bra accompanied the Egyptian flag for weeks after the event. The bra that was once a sign of humiliation and exposure is now a sign of honor and dignity. Graffiti art covered the sidewall of Cairo showing the blue bra. Showing that uncovering the Egyptian women is in fact exposing the whole country and striping the honor of not only the women but everyone.
The policemen that are driven by religious beliefs. The system that supposedly believes in chivalry, is now exposed as a system that is ok with beating and exposing its females.
The irony here is that in Egypt, the government undressed and beat a woman because she disagreed with them. However, in Iran, the state beat a woman to death because she did not wear her hijab “properly”? Same inhuman and violent behavior from very similarly minded regimes. Is it just a Déjà vu or have I actually lived and experienced these feelings before?
Friend or foe
Back then, tv shows and programs – partially funded by the government- criticized the girl, questioned and blamed her. It was social media platforms that allowed the crowds to show their support, Facebook was the platform where people got informed about that inhuman event, and where people shared opinions and feelings. They used it to organize protests and to expose the regime back then.
Social media was the platform where people started to ask questions. Is it really about clothing? do these events use the title of “proper clothing” as a cover-up for something more? Could it be more related to ‘dressing’ and ‘covering’ a woman’s mind and ideas, not just their bodies? Isn’t religion supposedly a personal relationship between humans and their God? how could it eventually lead to these violent and abusive behaviors? Is wearing the hijab “properly” really a matter of life and death? Is it just a Déjà vu or have I actually lived and experienced these feelings before?
What now?
Now with platforms such as Facebook losing their share of the audience in Europe and other spots, how would we get to know the truth and feel the genuine anger from the source? can we still trust traditional news agencies? or should we wait for the new social media hero that will get us the information we need? At the end, the true question is who actually has the loudest voice, social media or….?
