Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who passed away while in police custody has unleashed a wave of public protests that have turned the country on its head. The Iranian government is currently facing backlash and global condemnation for the restrictive religious and social laws placed on women and its impact on countries globally that also face this adversity. 

Women in Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco are not required by law to wear the hijab, a head covering for women, and many choose not to without being subject to deadly consequences. However, it is the opposite in Iran, as women will face legal consequences for not wearing a hijab. It has been long debated by theologists and followers of the religion whether the Quran (the Islamic religious text) requires women to wear a head covering specifically. While the Quran does address modest dress and there are some interpretations that believe it also mandates a shoulder/chest covering, nobody has been able to reach a text-based conclusion that Muslim women must wear the hijab. Therefore, more liberal states leave it up to women as individuals to decide for themselves how they wish to worship and practice their religion, whether that means wearing the hijab or not.

Iran was not always like this. Prior to the revolution in 1979, women had been given more freedom to make their own choices. Instead of promoting the Westernization of a culture deeply rooted in religious tradition, an attempt to integrate with the more choice-driven approach towards women’s rights regarding not only dress, and the freedom for women to express themselves as has been successfully done in surrounding countries.