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Book of the Week

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Serialised book readings, featuring works from various genres

Serialised book readings, featuring works of non-fiction, biography, autobiography, travel, diaries, essays, humour and history

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Book of the Week: The Wind in My Hair

Nathalie Armin

Masih Alinejad

Elizabeth Burke

Alexandra Quinn

Book of the Week: The Wind in My Hair: Episode 5: My Stealthy Freedom

The Wind in My Hair

Episode 5

Episode 5: My Stealthy Freedom

My Stealthy Freedom

BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week, The Wind in My Hair, My Stealthy Freedom

A single photo of Masih without a hijab sparks a social media liberation movement.

Masih is exiled during the Iranian election of 2009 and starts an online liberation movement opposing compulsory wearing of the hijab.

Masih finds that she is no longer safe in Tehran working as a political journalist. She is forced into exile during the Iranian elections of 2009 but finds a way to protest against the Islamic Republic with her online movement.

Masih Alinejad is a journalist and activist from a small village in Iran. In 2014 she sparked a social media movement when she posted a picture of her curly hair blowing in the wind without her veil or hijab. Across Iran, women started sharing pictures of their uncovered hair on Masih's Facebook page in open defiance of the strict religious beliefs of their country - and often, their families. 

With the creation of My Stealthy Freedom Masih gained over one million supporters and inspired women everywhere to take a stand against the compulsory wearing of the hijab.

But behind the scenes of this movement, Masih has been fighting a painful personal battle. She is a divorcee - a sin equivalent to prostitution in Iranian culture. As a political reporter, Masih has been actively speaking out against the government's corrupt policies for more than a decade and this has led to her expulsion from Iran and separation from her son. 

Read by Nathalie Armin
Abridged by Elizabeth Burke
Produced by Alexandra Quinn
A Loftus Production for BBC Radio 4.

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Masih Alinejad's account of her upbringing under the shadow of the Islamic Revolution.

Masih Alinejad's account of her upbringing under the shadow of the Islamic Revolution. Read by Nathalie Armin.

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