Flash Fiction: Just a Bit of Cloth
Aug. 5th, 2020 09:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_rose posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
lmdee"Just wear it," her brother says, unable to understand her reluctance. "It's just a bit of cloth."
"I don't want to," she says tearfully.
"It's for the public good!" He gives her a sympathetic look. "It is for your own safety."
It's a symbol of oppression and control. She protested but the protest did nothing, not when so many citizens welcomed the law. Now she must cover up or face punishment and public shaming.
"Maybe it won't be forever," he says, exasperated. "Now put it on."
Amaya puts on the headscarf before she leaves the house. The revolution which overthrew the monarchy did not make her free.
Note: since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hijab has become compulsory in Iran. Women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public to this day. Mandatory covering laws are never fleeting.
"I don't want to," she says tearfully.
"It's for the public good!" He gives her a sympathetic look. "It is for your own safety."
It's a symbol of oppression and control. She protested but the protest did nothing, not when so many citizens welcomed the law. Now she must cover up or face punishment and public shaming.
"Maybe it won't be forever," he says, exasperated. "Now put it on."
Amaya puts on the headscarf before she leaves the house. The revolution which overthrew the monarchy did not make her free.
Note: since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hijab has become compulsory in Iran. Women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public to this day. Mandatory covering laws are never fleeting.