Men in Iran wear hijabs to protest 'morality police'

Men in Iran are wearing hijabs to show support for their female friends and family. Photo / Facebook / My Stealthy Freedom

As a show of solidarity with women in Iran protesting the hijab, men have taken to wearing the garment.

"Morality police" enforce the rule that the headscarf is worn and has been since the Islamic revolution of 1979. Women who show their hair and do not wear the hijab face punishments ranging from fines to imprisonment.

By not wearing a hijab, women are told they are putting themselves at risk of unwanted sexual advances, and state funded adverts present women showing their hair as dishonourable.

A number of photos have surfaced of men wearing a hijab while their wife has her head uncovered, the Independent reported.

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#مردان_باحجاب #MenInHijab وقتي که انقلاب شد مادرم به زور حجاب به اين سفت و سختي به سر کرد. و هیچ وقت به حجاب اعتقادی نداشت. در تابستان گرم خوزستان مجبور شد با این لباس بیرون برود .مادر مرد وتنها لباس هایش برایم به یادگار ماند گهگاه لباس هایش را بر تن میکنم ویاد اون روزهای گرم تابستان میکنم که مادرم برای خرید میرفت بیرون وقتی که بر میگشت از گرما نای حرف زدن نداشت. من همیشه شرمنده مادر و خواهرهایم بودم خودم مخالف حجاب بودم پدر و برادرهایم هم نظر مشابه خودم رو داشت تو اون هوای گرم اهواز خیلی سخته و قابل توصیف نیست با چنین لباسی بری بیرون

A post shared by Masih Alinejad (@masih.alinejad) on Jul 22, 2016 at 11:36am PDT

The images are aresponse to a call by Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, who runs the My Stealthy Freedom campaign.

"Most of these men are living inside Iran and they have witnessed how their female relatives have been suffering at the hands of the morality police and humiliation of enforced hijab," she told the Independent.

"For years, from childhood to womanhood, we've been forced to wear the compulsory headscarf and for years we have had to endure the loss of our dignity. Many men have gotten used to seeing women in compulsory hijab every day and you think that is normal. But for millions of Iranian women, this compulsory hijab is an insult to their dignity."

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#مردان_باحجاب #MenInHijab اجبار در هر شكلي هرگز حس خوبي براي يك انسان نيست. من خودم از اين همه اجبار و گشت ارشاد براي اينكه بخواهند به زور همسرم رو با حجاب كنند بيزارم. مردان زيادي در ايران براي حق انتخاب زنان شان ارزش قائل هستند و يالثاراتي ها و صاحبان تفكري كه به مردان مدافع حق انتخاب پوشش زنان نسيت ديوث و بي غيرت مي دهند نماد و نماينده همه مردان ايراني نسيتند. آنها شرم جامعه ي ما هستند نگذاريم بر ما مسلط شوند

A post shared by Masih Alinejad (@masih.alinejad) on Jul 28, 2016 at 3:09am PDT

"In our society, a woman's existence and identity is justified by a man's integrity, and in many cases the teachings of a religious authority or government officials influence a man's misguided sense of ownership over women. So I thought it would be fantastic to invite men to support women's rights."

Women are furthering protests against enforced hijab across Iran and some have resorted to shaving their hair in order to appear in public without wearing a veil.