“It is about our rights. We cannot travel without consent of our father or husband. Or study, get a job, rent an apartment, have healthcare. I can tell you hours about our discrimination. There is not even a single night that I can sleep with peace of mind.”

“I hope one day I can raise my voice and I can make my country free and proud.”

“From the time I went to school I always heard that we all are brothers and sisters! That we are all equal! But in real life.. well there was no equality! Because I had to cover up for the men! How is that equal?! How come they didn’t have to cover up for me?!”

“Revolution happened in Iran before I was born, so when I grew up I thought this is how it must be, women should look like that, but when I checked my mom’s photo or I saw movies I found a paradox, why there is difference between us and the other little girls in other countries?”

“As a girl, I did not want to follow a rule that was forced on me! But I had to, cuz if something is not obeyed here, there will be consequences! And I did not wanted to trouble myself or my family in any way! So I followed but that did not made me a believer!”

“The government made some special police for compulsory hijab called "gashte ershad " when I got arrested they treated me like a criminal (taking my photo with name , fingerprint,..) I got the bitter truth, I felt like a bird getting stuck in a cage.”

“I am not allowed to express my individuality. I wish I could escape.”

“All my life I tried to respect other people’s believes but no one in government has respected mine. Every time I want to go out I feel someone’s oppression and injustice on my head, I really feel imprisoned in scarf and hijab.”

“I always suffered from compulsory hijab. I always long to feel the wind in my hair. The burden is beyond imagination, but it is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Every time that I approach my university, to the separate entrance where they check the women, I nervously push my hair back, tighten my scarf, check my whole appearance, be careful about not wearing tight uniforms or even pants, hide my fingernails and enter the university worrying about getting pulled from the line.”

“Even 5 years ago it was all brown and black, like the regime wants. But now colors, colors, colors!” So every day I wear my bright colored hijab and get on my bike (which is against the law now) to defy the regime.”

“After the government repressed the Green Movement in 2009, many of the young people have given up hope. But I haven’t. When I look around in the streets and see the bright colors, the girls wearing the hijabs so low with strands of hair showing, I see hope. I see change.”

“As an Iranian girl I feel left out and abandoned in my own country”

“Every time that I wear something white, I freak out when I see police officers in street. Because they might think my uniform is, see-through and arrest me to take me to moral police.”

"Many people worry about Trump. I believe things happen for a reason and will lead to more freedom for us. No sense in worrying, it is all part of the flow."

“I hope the circumstances get better in near future.”

Although social media are forbidden in Iran, women in Tehran are using social media via VPN to help their battle. When they get arrested for breaking hijab rules, they film each other from a safe distance to document the brutality in the hopes of creating more awareness and to empower other Iranian women.

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Masih Alinejad, the tireless activist of the My Stealthy Freedom movement against forced hijab calls upon all foreign female visitors to Iran to NOT wear the headscarf in support of the fight for freedom for women in Iran.