My campaign started by accident when I posted a picture of myself on Facebook. In the photo, I was joyously running through the streets of London without a headscarf, feeling the wind stroke my hair.

Shortly after I posted the picture, my Facebook comments section and inbox were inundated with envious messages from women in Iran – because in Iran, women are compelled to wear the hijab in public, even in the scorching heat of the summer. I replied to each of them by saying that they, too, could enjoy freedom and the wind in their hair. But they’d have to act stealthily.

To my surprise, numerous women sent me furtively-taken photos and videos of themselves in public spaces without their veil. I shared these on my own social media accounts, and from there, the idea of a campaign was born. I made a website, titled ‘My Stealthy Freedom’, which became a platform for Iranian women’s stories and acts of subversion.

I had no idea that the initiative would move beyond my wildest expectations, morphing into parallel online movements like #SeeYouInIranWithoutHijab, #MenInHijab, #MyForbiddenSong, #WhiteWednesdays, #GirlsOfRevolutionStreet, #WalkingUnveiled, and lately, #MyCameraIsMyWeapon.

“What my fight for freedom in Iran taught me about the power of social media”