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Swiss women cut their hair in solidarity with Iranians

Iranian women cutting hair
An Iranian woman cuts her hair during a rally on Tuesday calling for freedom for Iranian women. The poster shows a picture of Mahsa Amini, murdered for violating the Islamic dress code. Keystone / Bagus Indahono

About 20 public names from French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland have cut a lock of their hair as part of a symbolic gesture, expressing support for the struggle of Iranian women against oppression.

Since Tuesday a video has been circulating on social media showing women, including the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and Swiss Federal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, cutting their hair.

Several artists took part in the action, such as the film director Ursula Meier, the choreographer La Ribot and Tatyana Franck, former director of the Photo Museum in Lausanne. Support also came from Swiss women in politics, journalism, sport, medicine and gastronomy.

On Monday Swiss author Kim de l’Horizon, who is non-binary, won the prestigious German Book Prize 2022 and shaved their head in solidarity with women in Iran during the award ceremony at the Frankfurt International Book Fair.

Book winner cutting hair
Kim de l’Horizon at the Frankfurt International Book Fair Keystone / Ronald Wittek

Morality police

The video comes in response to a violent crackdown by Iranian police against protestors outraged by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish girl, on September 16. She had been arrested by Iran’s morality police for violating the Islamic dress code.

Since her death, thousands of people have been demonstrating throughout the country against the government’s repressive policies and the obligation to wear headscarves. According to media reports, nearly 200 people have died and thousands have been arrested.

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