“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”

Mahatma Gandhi

 

The Silent Sound of Autonomy 

The most vital line we possess isn't drawn on a map or written in a law; it's the invisible border between you and the world. This boundary is personal autonomy. The fundamental human need to own your body and decisions runs deeper than any political system.

I wonder: what does it feel like to have a piece of yourself belong to someone else?

When you look at the incredible fire ignited by women in Iran, you see the rawest, most undeniable evidence. When you strip away the politics, women shedding the compulsory hijab is just the sound of women reaching their psychological breaking point. 

A collective reclaiming of themselves. A reminder that our self-worth can never be defined, dictated, or confined by any external force.

 

So, Where Did It Begin?

To understand the brutality of this collective reclamation, we must look at history. For over four decades, women in Iran lived with the perpetual anxiety, or the chronic, low-grade stress resulting from the constant fear of arbitrary punishment for a normal action. 

This anxiety has deep roots. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran experienced a shift toward secular, Westernising policies, including the Shah’s move in the 1930s to forcibly ban the veil. This shows that, even before the Islamic Revolution, the government viewed women’s bodies as a tool for projecting its ideological image.

But the real transformation, the one that defined a generation, began when the pendulum swung back. 

Following the revolution, the woman’s hijab became compulsory, enforced first by social pressure and warnings, and then cemented into law. 

This was an attempt to manage not just public appearance, but the private identities of women. It was a life lived under constant stress, leaving a whole gender wondering: ‘Am I covered enough?’ ‘Is a strand of my hair showing?’ ‘Will I be arrested today?’ This system of control aimed to make women active agents of their own repression. 

When Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in the custody of these forces in September 2022 for the “improper” wearing of her headscarf, the cumulative suffering finally boiled over. 

Her death was the trigger that made women realise their individual fears were actually a collective concern. The act of tearing off the veil was thus an immediate return to themselves.  A defiant moment of collective self-assertion. 

 

 

The Apparatus of Authority

The power structure that attempts to enforce such intimate mandates relies on two distinct mechanisms, a concept Louis Althusser, a Marxist Philosopher, explores in his work.

• The Repressive State Apparatus (RSA), is the visible, physical manifestation of authority. This includes the police, the army, the judicial system, and, in this context, the morality patrol. The RSA operates primarily through force, fines, or the threat of imprisonment. It is the visible hand that punishes dissent. Like the police violence witnessed during the George Floyd protests, which was physically enforced state authority.
  
  
• Ideological State Apparatus (ISA): This is the more dangerous and powerful daily presence. This category includes institutions like the family, the educational system, the media, and culture. The ISA uses ideology and persuasion, and its job is to reproduce the ruling norms by making obedience feel natural, correct, or even dignified. It works to convince individuals to internalise the rules, essentially becoming their own guardrails. For example, the social and institutional pressure attempts to erase a comedian like Munawar Faruqui through cultural shaming, making self-censorship seem natural to avoid outrage.

The Iranian women’s revolt is so powerful because it attacked both. When they burned the hijab, they defied the visible force (RSA). When they asserted their right to choose their hair and clothing, they rejected the cultural conditioning (ISA) that tried to steal their self-worth and define their dignity. 

 

A Shared Fight for the Sovereign Self

The battle in Tehran, Isfahan, and beyond is not an isolated incident. It is a reminder that the struggle for bodily autonomy is being fought in countless ways by women across the globe, in systems that use different rules, but the same core methods of control.

For nearly half of the world's women, according to the UN Population Fund, the basic right to make decisions about their own bodies is denied. Whether through:

• Reproductive control in restrictive laws in countries like the United States and Poland that compromises a woman's right to decide her own medical future.
  
  
• Mobility restrictions like legal or social codes in certain regions that limit a woman's ability to travel, work, or move freely without a male guardian or chaperone.
  
  
• Financial denial through systems where women are legally prevented from owning or controlling property or finances, and therefore directly restricting their ability to make autonomous life choices.

These restrictions, wherever they occur, deny personal agency. 

So let me leave you with the wisdom of American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem, who said:

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."

The shame thrives in silence. If this article resonated, share it and tag someone who needs to hear this: Your dignity is not negotiable.

Image Credits - Pexels

 

 

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**DISCLAIMER**

“This piece is a reflection on personal autonomy and human rights. It is not intended to offend or target any religion, culture, or individual beliefs. We honour freedom of choice and conscience for every person, and we stand against violence or oppression in all its forms. Let’s keep the conversation respectful and kind. Thank you.”