You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

On March 8, 1979, over 100,000 Iranian women gathered in Tehran on International Women’s Day to protest Ayatollah Khomeini’s newly announced compulsory hijab decree. The crowds marched from Tehran University to protest the loss of personal choice and their civil liberties.

The demonstrations were triggered by a newspaper announcement on March 7 stating that women would be required to wear headscarves in the workplace. Women from all walks of life, including nurses, students, mothers, and professionals, marched with their hair uncovered to demand bodily autonomy.

The crowd famously chanted, “We didn’t have a revolution to go backwards” and “Freedom is not Eastern or Western, but universal”. Iconic images of the protests were captured by photojournalist Hengameh Golestan, documenting the unified opposition to the new Islamic Republic’s laws.