Satire, Chadors, and Facebook – young Iranians protest
If there was ever a question about the sarcastic humor of the Iranians it can be found in the recent Facebook protest where Iranian men are posing wearing a chador (Islamic head covering) as a symbolic protest against the oppression of the current Tehran regime.
Why wearing a chador? It is a protest against the imprisonment of Majid Tavakoli from the Amir Kabir University who was arrested on Dec. 7 during anti-government demonstrations. Photographs of him wearing a chador were published on the semi-official Fars news agency, which reported that Tavakoli attempted to flee Iran dressed as a woman. Hence, why photographs of men in chandors opposed to his arrest and imprisonment are popping up all over Facebook. The Iranian authorities are taking this seriously. We have heard reports of Iranians returning to Tehran being ordered by immigration officials to log on to their Facebook accounts to prove they are not activists. When will they learn that trying to limit expression on the Internet is a failed cause?
A “Free Majid Tavakoli” group was created on Facebook, calling the student leader “a symbol of integrity and courage,” and more than 380 Iranian men have showed solidarity with him and posted pictures of themselves wearing a veil or chador with captions such as “I am Majid Tavakoli” or “It is not shame to be a woman, it is shame to be a man like you.”
Tavakoli has spent two previous stints in jail and was among a group of students arrested and allegedly tortured in 2007 following a demonstration that disrupted a visit by Ahmadinejad to Amir Kabir University the previous year.
Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that government “agents severely beat and injured Majid during the arrest. The amount of violence and brutality used in the arrest shocked passer[s]-by.”
One witness told the human rights group: “All the pictures published by the state media are false and a clear use of immoral means against student and civil activists in Iran.”
Fake images of Ayatollah Khamenei wearing a female head cover have been posted on the web
