Wrapped Around My Head and Stitched Under My Chin. A Story of Mandatory Hijab Rule for Iranian Women

I was around seven years old when I was confronted for not having a proper hijab for the first time. I still remember what I used to wear. A long-sleeved buttoned dark blue jacket that reached below my knees and a pair of pants made from the same fabric. But I was not wearing my head covering. A white scarf that would cover from the top of my forehead to below my shoulders. It was stitched under my chin and those stitches were itchy. I wore it at school and removed it as soon as I set foot outside of the school. I was born in the mid-80s in Tehran, Iran. Hijab is mandatory in Iran and is strongly enforced. As kids, we start wearing the mandatory hijab from the first grade at school and have to continue to do so in our lifetime. Schools in Iran are single-gender and the mandatory hijab includes a long jacket with long sleeves (manteau). Pants that should reach our ankles and a headscarf. If girls do not wear these they would not be allowed in schools. <a href="https://medium.com/@saghi7/wrapped-around-my-head-and-stitched-under-my-chin-a-story-of-mandatory-hijab-rule-for-iranian-women-2a80dbda8ce1">Click Here</a>