Why Christiane Amanpour's Refusal To Wear Hijab For Interview Matters

Hijab has become a symbol of dissent in the world. From the Karnataka Hijab Controversy, where students are dissenting against the ban on headscarves in classrooms, to the ongoing massive protests in Iran against the strict hijab regulations. The dissent is not about wearing or removing the hijab. It is about women's choices.

The fight is about a woman's freedom to choose whatever she likes, irrespective of gender and religion. No one should preach to women what is right for them and instead learn to respect their agency. Veteran CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour too asserted her agency during a recent (proposed) interview and gave a befitting response to an unreasonable request by Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi.

Christiane Amanpour-Ebrahim Raisi Controversy

The death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini, at hands of the country's morality police over an "improper" hijab has sparked rampant protests. But not all acts of dissent happen in the streets, and this was proved by Amanpour. Raisi had agreed to an interview with the popular television news anchor on the condition that the host must wear a hijab. However, Amanpour declined the request, as a result of which the interview was cancelled.

Narrating the entire incident on Twitter, Amanpour wrote how she had planned to ask the Iranian president about the widespread protests against hijab rule in the country. According to her, this was supposed to be Raisi’s first ever interview on US soil, during his visit to New York for United Nations General Assembly. After weeks of planning and eight hours of setting up translation equipment, Raisi didn't turn up for the interview. "40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a headscarf, because it’s the holy months of Muharram and Safar," she recalled in her Twitter thread.

Detailing her response to the request, Amanpour added, "I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran." Amanpour said that Raisi's aide then made it clear that the interview would not happen if she did not wear a headscarf. He said it was “a matter of respect,” and further referred to “the situation in Iran”. Amanpour wrote that she couldn't agree to this "unprecedented and unexpected condition" and so the team walked away from the interview.

Amanpour's disagreement signifies respecting her own choices and other women in the newsroom and the world. She also makes a statement that journalism can't be subjected to dictates in the name of respect and won't play as per a regime's beliefs. 

Raisi might believe that through hijab he is honouring and protecting women. But the hijab policy is just a manifestation of a patriarchal culture. It needs to be abolished for broader political and societal change. Over the years, head-coverings have represented the repression of many personal freedoms of women. Perhaps, now Iranian women refuse to be suppressed and be the victims of autocratic rulers. Amanpour's actions stand in solidarity with these protesting women in Iran. 

Raisi was disrespecting Amanpour's choices and those of all the women who refuse to wear hijab. Secondly, his demand is questionable because it seems that he was asserting his response to the protests back home. Ebrahim Raisi's demands felt more like a statement that he is giving to his country and world.

Often politicians tend to cross a certain line and impose their beliefs on the masses. They spare no one, be it a journalist or a fellow politician. This urge to restrict women finds its root in the deep-seated sexism among powerful orthodox men. It is a derivative of a regressive patriarchal mindset that perceives a woman as weak with no agency over her body or freedom of choice. The Iranian government has massively invested in promoting an ‘Islamic culture’ through media. Eventually allocating women the inferior place.

Government has opted coercive and discursive measures to control women's agency through the means of  religion. Someone who don't do it has to face the fate of Mahsa Amini. The establishment of political Islam encourage conservative elements to adversely impact women’s lives. Political Islam glorify the hijab as modesty and chastity. It is creating a structure for a women, which shows her as a shy, weak, submissive and self-effacing person. Christiane Amanpour-Ebrahim Raisi Controversy depicts both side of the coin- liberal and conservative. President, Ebrahim Raisi has proposed these ideas and been brain behind morality police. Mahsa Amini is reportedly died in morality police's custody. | Christiane Amanpour-Ebrahim Raisi Controversy

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