French actress Juliette Binoche, Swedish MEP Abir Al-Sahlani and many others in the West cut tufts of hair in front of cameras to support the rebellious Iranian women. What is it – free courage? Well, women citizens in democracies are not risking their heads, as is the case with Iranian youth these days, more and more of whom are being abused or dying in police custody. But you risk something that initially seems inconspicuous: your own indifference.
In this video still, Oscar winner Juliette Binoche snips a strand of her hair.
(Photo: Soutien Femmes Iran; Marion Quant/dpa)
What hasn’t the public in the West acknowledged with equanimity: the anti-Putinist ones Pussy Riot-Actions in Moscow. The failed uprising in Belarus. The Suffering of the Uyghurs in China. And and and. You had an opinion, politicians could worry about everything else. But they react to public pressure in democracies, which is why it can have political consequences if masses of Europeans show solidarity with the Iranians.
Cutting hair is a universal gesture, as was kneeling for the Black Lives Matter movement. As a product of the body, hair is something intrinsic. At the same time, losing it doesn’t hurt, giving away a little is not a masochistic act. In many cultures, women’s long hair is meant to seduce, or is just not allowed to do so. Being able to control it yourself, to show it, cover it up or shorten it at will is a symbol of self-empowerment.
There is one difference to movements such as “Me Too”: The new wave is not directed against many small dictators, but against a dictatorially operated state against which no appeals can be lodged. Which doesn’t mean that the long-bearded ones will get away with it in the end. The international public interested in human rights is just trying out what it can do.