A provocative exhibit on display in the front window of the poplular Adobe Bookstore in San Francisco is turning heads!
On a television screen, the faces of male protesters in Iran are featured prominently in the traditional hijab (scarf), as they essentially thumb their noses at officials in their homeland in what amounts to a unique political statement.
The movement began as an online backlash after the arrest of one anti-government protester by the name of Majid Tavakoli.
The day after his arrest, an Iranian news agency published a picture of Tavakoli dressed in a chador, a black head-to-toe garment worn by Iranian women.
The government claimed the man had been caught wearing the garment in an attempt to hide himself and avoid arrest, but opposition leaders insisted that the photo published by the semi-official Fars news agency had been manipulated.
Within hours of the Fars report, men - both inside and outside Iran - began posting pictures of themselves online at a politically-oriented website wearing head coverings that are mandated for women in the Islamic republic.
Hamid Dabashi, a Professor of Iranian studies at New York's Columbia University, stridently noted to the press last month that the action was an attempt to draw attention to the government's tactic to "humiliate, intimidate or stifle political momements" inside the country.
"They (Iranian government officials) used a standard cliche to try to humiliate men, as if being a woman were something bad, and thousands of Iranians respond by posting these pictures, showing there is absolutely nothing wrong with women or veiling," Dabashi huffed to all within earshot.
Adding to the controversy was the Fars agency's decision to juxtapose the photos of Tavakoli alongside a decades-old photo of the first president of the Islamic republic, Abolhassan Banisadr.
Years ago, Iranian officials accused Banisadr of using women's clothes to try to escape arrest.
The Fars report gave no explanation for publishing Banisadr's photo alongside Tavakoli's and the two men have no other apparent links.
According to CNN, a blog that focuses on religion and politics in the Muslim world - Spittoon.org - interpreted the juxtaposition as being an attempt by the authorities to humiliate Tavakoli, using an old practice by the government to prove to the public that the opposition leaders are 'less than men,' who lacked courage and bravery.
One commentator on that site wrote:
"It is ironic how [the] head scarf, which was traditionally seen as a symbol of women's oppression ... is now being used by men to show membership in a liberation movement."
Hijab refers to religiously sanctioned dress for men and women in Islam.
Tavakoli remains in custody of Iranian security forces and it is not known what he thinks about becoming associated with this particular protest tactic.
He was arrested after a protest which incensed Iranian Government officials.
Shortly after he was hauled away, a video of a speech was posted on YouTube, in which he made an urgent plea.
"Stand up against dictatorship and scream all you can against dictatorship. We don't accept a dictatorship any more."
If you're in the neighborhood, stop by the Adobe Bookstore to catch the thought-provoking exhibit.
Below, I have posted a few links featuring HD Video I captured from my perch on the street.
Adobe Bookstore Exhibit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2WmR9nYp1A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiNbZjXpi0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r83G6naGik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmGknPzpVHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Bi5StgSvU
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