NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office celebrates World Hijab Day, triggers intense backlash

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New Delhi: Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of the New York City, is being severely criticised over his celebratory post on World Hijab Day that was observed on February 1. People on social media promptly slammed the post and pointed out oppression on women in countries like Iran where they are even handed out death penalty for violating the mandatory hijab rules.

The social post that triggered row

The NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs posted on X, “February 1st is #WorldHijabDay! Today, we celebrate the faith, identity, & pride of Muslim women & girls around the word who choose to wear the hijab, a powerful symbol of devotion & celebration of Muslim heritage.”

People slam stance of Mamdani

Soon, many people called out the post, opining that hijab has been used as a symbol of oppression against women. Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad said, “To be honest, I feel tortured in my own beautiful city of New York, watching you celebrate “World Hijab Day” while women in my wounded country, Iran, are being jailed, shot, and killed for refusing the hijab and the Islamic ideology behind it.”

She further wrote, “Not even an empty condemnation for the massacre which unfolding right now in Iran. Your silence, paired with celebration, is shameful. You are not standing with women. You are standing with our jailers.”

The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran

Another social media user wrote, “This absolutely disgusts me coming from a country where I experienced maximum oppression under Islamic rules. I had to cover my hair at the age of 7 when I started 1st grade. And women of my country are still getting killed for showing their hair.”

Another person wrote, “Celebrating the hijab while women are beaten, jailed, and killed for refusing it is moral rot. That’s not empowerment it’s misogyny dressed up as progress. That’s not culture. That’s oppression. You’re not being inclusive you’re excusing violence against women.”

Notably, in 2022, a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini was killed in Iran for violating the hijab rules. It triggered massive protests with slogans of “Woman, Life, Freedom” as women set afire their headscarves on fire in public. The protests went on for months and more than 500 people were killed in it.