It’s kind of amazing, the idea of Iranian men wearing traditional head scarves to show their allegiance to the insurgence, but that’s what they’re doing.
Thus the new protest also speaks to the societal aspect of Iranian women being forced to accept a dress code, according to Dabashi.
“Proud to wear my late mother’s rusari, the very rusari that was forced on my wife in Iran, the very rusari for which my sisters are humiliated if they choose to wear it in Europe, and the very rusari that the backward banality that now rules Iran thinks will humiliate Majid Tavakoli if it is put on him — He is dearer and nobler to us today than he ever was.”
In a speech before his arrest, Tavakoli played on the theme of the day’s historical significance in light of current anti-government protests.
“We Iranian men are late doing this,” Dabashi said. “If we did this when rusari was forced on those among our sisters who did not wish to wear it 30 years ago, we would have perhaps not been here today.”
(thanks to Jade Catherine for the tip)