On Tuesday, February 22, a video went viral on social media wherein a young girl can be seen sitting on the roadside crying inconsolably. Blood is oozing out of her nose and her clothes are also covered with blood. According to Twitter users, the little girl was hit brutally on her face for not wearing a hijab. The incident reportedly happened in Iran.
Two women are also seen in the video assisting and comforting the girl.
“Little girl bleeding after getting hit in Iran. Her fault? She didn’t wear Hijab. “Hijab is a choice” is the biggest scam of our times,” wrote popular Twitter user Monica Verma, condemning the brutal act.
Little girl bleeding after getting hit in Iran.
— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) February 22, 2023
Her fault? She didn’t wear Hijab.
“Hijab is a choice” is the biggest scam of our timespic.twitter.com/YYsCjrxOtU
According to information shared on the microblogging site Twitter, the girl who became the latest victim of brutality in the Islamic country for not wearing a hijab properly is Sara Shirazi, an elementary school student. She was hit by a female named Razia Haft Baradaran while she was on her way to school.
Sara Shirazi was not only beaten up but her family was also threatened with a fate similar to that of Mahsa Amini if they protested or approached the media.
#Sara_Shirazi, the girl who was beaten by #Razieh_Haft_Bradaran for the compulsory hijab, is not in a good mental condition
— Meunique (@Meeeeluniq) February 22, 2023
The Islamic republic has threatened her family that if they tell what happened to their daughter, we will repeat the story of #Mehsa_Amini
Be our voice! pic.twitter.com/dhHZFpdAwo
Many Twitter users reacted angrily, denouncing the inhumane act to beat up such a young girl over hijab.
It’s not scene of a horror or crime movie, it’s a real life of Iranian children. #Sara_Shirazi elementary student who was attacked by a brutal islamist on her school way because the obligatory hijab. Her family is threatened to keep silent. #IRGCterorrists @UNHumanRights @UNICEF pic.twitter.com/ts7kvQzVoC
— Mike Yami (@MikeYami_) February 22, 2023
Such level of hatred towards little girl 😡😡😡
— sriram prasanna (@sriramprasann15) February 21, 2023
This is so heartbreaking!
— Bob Lancia (@BobLancia) February 22, 2023
Another Netizen questioned the stoic silence of so-called human rights advocates who frequently lecture others on women’s rights and empowerment.
Where is @Malala @GretaThunberg @UN @UNHumanRights
— Chandan KM (@chandankm99) February 22, 2023
It is worth emphasising that women in Iran are forced to wear a hijab, which covers the head and neck and hides the hair, under Islamic law, which has been in place since the 1979 revolution. While Iranian women battle to be emancipated from the restrictions of headscarves, the hijab is shown as ‘women’s choice’ by Islamists around the world.
Last year, Iran witnessed severe nationwide anti-hijab protests which were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Tehran’s Morality Police.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was detained by the ‘morality police’ in Tehran for failing to comply with the country’s required hijab requirements. Amini, who was on a pleasure trip to Tehran, had not ‘properly covered’ her hair with a hijab. She was detained by police and then assaulted in the police vehicle while being driven to a detention center for a “re-education class” for failing to wear the country’s mandated head covering.
Post her death, many women including schoolgirls, took to the streets and burnt their hijabs. Women everywhere chopped their hair in protest. Women posted images of themselves removing their hijabs to protest Islamic laws that forbid them from exposing their hair in public.
In retaliation, the so-called “morality police” arrested several women, with allegations that certain authorities have asked that public transportation personnel, as well as staff in government offices, and banks overlook so-called “bad-hijab” ladies. “Morality police” have been observing medical facilities and educational institutions in numerous Iranian cities to make sure women are covering their heads.
While Iranian authorities had announced the abolition of the morality police following the protests, the situation on the ground has not changed. The official morality police in Iran is now replaced by Hijab Vigilants, who do the same job, punish women for not wearing hijab or for not wearing it ‘properly’.