Women taking photos of themselves without headscarves face 10-year prison sentence in Iran

Scores of women have been arrested for removing hijabs as part of ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign

The 'White Wednesdays' campaign encourages women to post photos of themselves without their headscarves (White Wednesday Campaign)

Iranian women who post photos of themselves online without their headscarves on could face up to 10 years in prison.

They face the punishment for posting images or video online, and for sending them to Masih Alinejad, a US-based activist who founded the “White Wednesdays” campaign in Iran to oppose the compulsory hijab.

The campaign encourages women to post photos of themselves without headscarves.

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted the head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Mousa Ghazanfarabadi, saying “those who film themselves or others while removing the hijab and send photos to this woman ... will be sentenced to between one and 10 years in prison.”

Wearing the Islamic headscarf is mandatory in public for all women in Iran. Those who violate the rule face up to two months in prison and a fine of £20.

Scores of women in Iran have been arrested for removing their headscarves as part of the “White Wednesdays” campaign.

Last year, an Iranian woman was sentenced to two years in prison and 18 years probation for removing her headscarf in a protest.

Shaparak Shajarizadeh said she had been sentenced for “opposing the compulsory hijab” and “waving a white flag of peace in the street”.