These Iranian Women Are Risking Jail to Show Off Their Hair

Can you imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned for two months for showing off your hair? Since 1983, that has been a reality for Iranian women. It is mandatory to wear a hijab, or head scarf, in public. While many Western Muslim women choose to wear this garment as an expression of their faith and modesty, Iranian women don't have a choice. The country's morality police arrested, warned, or fined over three million women last year for breaking this unfair law — but now many are fighting back.

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad has created the Facebook group My Stealthy Freedom, where women are encouraged to share photos of themselves in public without a hijab. While it may seem like the group is anti-head scarf, that is untrue: they just believe that it should be up to the woman to decide. Read on to watch Masih's moving video, then see the empowering images.