MASIH ALINEJAD: OUR INSPIRATION
This project was inspired by Masih Alinejad and the work that she does with My Stealthy Freedom.
My Stealthy Freedom is an online social movement that was started by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad on May 3, 2014. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 women in Iran have had to cover their hair in public, but many Iranian women and men feel that wearing a hijab in public should be a personal choice. To address this issue we created a Facebook page where women from inside Iran could share photos of themselves not wearing their hijabs. Our website is a living archive of the photos and videos shared with us by these brave women, and the media coverage (both good and bad) that we receive from inside and outside Iran.
For her courageous work, she has been harassed, arrested, had her belongings confiscated, and been labeled a whore by people who want to silence her.
Masih is a hero.
And she will not be silenced. Instead, we are going to help her turn up the volume by raising our voices in support of her cause. There are billions of us.
It’s time to make some noise.
SHE CAN WEAR WHAT SHE WANTS
We stand for a woman’s right to wear whatever she chooses. What she put’s on is HER CHOICE. If a woman wants to wear the hijab, that is her right. If she does not want to wear the hijab, that is also her right.
She can wear whatever she wants and no one has the right to tell her otherwise.
She cannot be forced.
We are not against women who choose to wear the hijab. Just as it is wrong to tell a woman she must wear the hijab, it is also wrong to tell a woman she cannot wear the hijab.
We believe that women have the right to choose for themselves, and that they should not be punished or shamed for their choice of clothes one way or the other.
END THE FORCED HIJAB
In many countries, women do not have the freedom to choose what to wear. Men decide what women wear, and disobedience is a crime.
In Iran, it is illegal for women to go outside without covering their hair. Women are forced to wear the hijab on penalty of law.
If the women disobey, they are threatened, shamed, and and arrested. In some cases, they are beaten, raped and murdered.
To add insult to injury, police rarely investigate these crimes and the perpetrators of these acts are rarely brought to justice.
THIS MUST STOP
The goal of this project is to change the law so that it is not a crime for women wear whatever they want.
We demand an end to the mandatory hijab.
THE PROJECT
PHASE 1: THE SONG
This part is already done. We’ve written a great song called “Take It Off” that captures the heart of the struggle and that will serve as a battle cry for the movement.
PHASE 2: THE RECORDING
Our next step is to go into the studio, and record, mix and master the song so that we can release it. We are working on this now.
PHASE 3: THE VIDEO
Once the song is ready, the final step is to make a video. We have a groundbreaking concept for the video, but it requires a budget, so we are looking at doing a kickstarter to make it happen.
TAKE IT OFF – THE LYRICS
VERSE 1
I am not a whore
I am not a slut
I am not a tramp
I am not a bitch
I am not a cunt
I am free
I am not afraid
I am not alone
It is ME who has been betrayed
I will not atone
I will stand
Can you comprehend?
I am not a slave
Understand
I will not repent
I am not ashamed
I will shout from the mountaintop
You will hear me roar
I refuse to be scared of you
You will fear me more
Here I come
Do you see me now?
Ask me if I dare
Show my hair
Do you feel it now?
Change is in the air.
I’m not saying that it’s bad or that wearing it’s always wrong
But until I have the choice to put it on… I gotta take it off.
CHORUS
I GOTTA TAKE IT OFF
VERSE 2
It’s time for me to stop being polite.
I demand the right to choose the role that I play in my own life.
I am free
I am beautiful
I will not be tamed
I will do what I want to do
I will not be blamed
Stop attacking me
Stop accusing me
Stop the pain
Stop disgracing me
Stop abusing me
Break the chains
I’m not saying that it’s bad or that wearing it’s always wrong
But until I have the choice to put it on… I gotta take it off.
CHORUS
VERSE 3
This is for the women that have died.
The women who have suffered persecution and survived.
The women that you punish cuz they won’t cover their face.
The women that won’t let you keep a woman in her place.
Yo
I am not a whore.
I am not a slut.
I am not a tramp, not a bitch, not a cunt.
And I’m not saying that it’s bad or that wearing it’s always wrong
But until I have the choice to put it on… I gotta take it off.
CHORUS
BREAKDOWN
I am your mother, your sister, your daughter, your wife
I demand the right to determine the course of my life
I’m not saying that it’s bad or that wearing it’s always wrong
But until I have the choice to put it on… I gotta take it off.
MEDIA CLIP INSERTS
CHORUS OUT