Security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are chasing unveiled female drivers in Tehran today. Hossein Rahimi, commander of Tehran Province, said he’d given directives so that cars driven by unveiled women would receive a text. Those receiving texts are obliged to show up at the indicated police station to pay hefty fines and receive a warning not to engage in “unveiling” again.

Once again, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities have rattled by the unstoppable wave of women ditching their compulsory hijabs. Nowadays, Iranian women are ditching their forced hijabs at every available opportunity. The fight against compulsory hijab especially gained momentum after our campaigns of #WhiteWednesdays and #MyCameraIsMyWeapon became grassroots campaigns embraced by local activists inside Iran.

As we speak, scores of #WhiteWednesdays activists still remain in prison for simply removing their forced hijab in public. Their unfair imprisonment has been condemned by various human rights organisations including Amnesty International.

Let’s not forget that compulsory hijab is the Achilles‘ heel of the Islamic Republic. It’s a sign of the clerics’ ideology written on women’s bodies. They have taken women’s hair hostage since they came to power. Letting go of that control for clerics also means letting go of their control of the country.