Headwear and hegemony: how ‘turban tossing’ protests are threatening Iran’s ruling clergy

A protest image of Mahsa Amani, whose death ignited anti-regime demonstrations across Iran and the world. Getty Images

The ongoing protests in Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country’s “Guidance Patrol” (or morality police) have made world headlines. But there is another form of protest that has received less mainstream attention in Western media.

Whereas Amini was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly”, thereby violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law, this new protest campaign involves another form of headwear – the amameh, or turban, worn by Shi’a clergy. Protesters have been deliberately knocking amameh off the heads of passing clerics.