Iran Feature: The "No to Hijab" Campaign on Facebook (Esfandiari)

Dozens of Iranian women, and some men, living both inside and outside the country, have posted their pictures on the Facebook page of a newly launched campaign called, “No to Mandatory Hijab” that declares that women should have the right to choose whether or not to wear the Muslim headscarf.

Among the posters, according to the campaign’s organizers, are women living inside the country who voluntarily wear the chador -- the long cloak with a head scarf -- but believe that the hijab shouldn’t be compulsory.

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The Latest from Iran (30 November): Life Beyond Wikileaks

2010 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Student activist Nasim Soltanbaygi has been sentenced to six years in prison.

2005 GMT: Strike a (Nuclear) Pose. Back from a break to find President Ahmadinejad carrying out his standard approach --- agree to talks with the "West" but try to establish a position of strength by denouncing the "West" --- in a speech in Sari in northern Iran.

With discussions confirmed with the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, China, Russia) in Geneva on 6-7 December, the President charged, "While the Tehran negotiations [with Brazil and Turkey] were underway, you passed an illegal resolution against the Iranian nation and today you insist on continuing negotiations."

Ahmadinejad said is always ready to enter nuclear negotiations with the West as long as Iran's rights are respected, advising the negotiating side to put away its "tyrannical" attitude.

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The Latest from Iran (9 November): The "Rule of Law"

1610 GMT: Press Watch. ICHRI claims, from a "reliable source inside Hamshahri newspaper", that four senior journalists have been suspended and a reporter has been dismissed. Though there have been many dismissals at Hamshahri Newspaper in the past, the suddenness of the actions has surprised many of the people who work at the newspaper. The source says it is feared that the suspensions are the beginning of an intiative to put in journalists who have the same political orientation as the paper’s management. In the last year, Hamshahri’s management has been filled by individuals who formerly worked in the police force or the judiciary, including Managing Director Mehdi Zakeri.

1508 GMT: A Change of Philosophy. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization has withdrawn from the holding of World Philosophy Day in Tehran, less than two weeks before the event.

There had been sustained protests, including an academic challenge led by philosopher and former political prisoner Ramin Jahanbegloo, against UNESCO's persistence in supporting the gathering. The arrangements had been made in 2008 but came under fire amidst post-election conflict, repression, and the Iranian regime's restriction on Western humanities in universities.

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