Iran International
Reports from Tehran by a British Muslim commentator depicting normalcy and freedom after Iran’s violent crackdown on dissent have triggered a backlash, with critics accusing authorities of using foreign voices to legitimize their narrative.
Bushra Shaikh, who was in Tehran for the state-backed 22 Bahman rally marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, wrote on X that she walked through the gathering without wearing a headscarf and faced no interference.
“Yes, I walked the entire rally in Tehran without a hijab and guess what happened? Absolutely nothing,” she wrote. “There is evidently more of a relaxed tone around hijab—I experienced it for myself.”
Critics said her experience reflected selective tolerance, pointing out that she had to wear a headscarf when appearing on Iran’s English-language state broadcaster.
Community notes attached to her posts added context, stating that hijab remains legally mandatory in Iran and that enforcement has been widely documented by human rights organizations.
In her posts and interviews, Shaikh also challenged Western coverage of Iran, arguing that the government enjoys broad public support and that sanctions—not hijab laws or political repression—are the public’s primary concern.
She further accused Israel’s Mossad and its alleged agents of killing civilians and security forces during unrest to inflate casualty figures.
Her comments prompted widespread condemnation online. Many Iranian users said her reporting echoed official narratives and ignored the risks faced by Iranian women who defy compulsory veiling.
One user wrote that Shaikh’s ability to appear unveiled at the rally was the result of sacrifices made by protesters. “
The same Bushra Shaikh, who today is reporting without hijab in Revolution Street for Western eyes in praise of freedom of dress, is the result of the blood of hundreds of youths who died right here three years ago,” the post said.
The controversy unfolded as state media aired interviews with several unveiled women at the rally—an unusual sight at official events. Government outlets presented the interviews as evidence of broad public support, including among women who do not adhere to strict dress codes.
Amjad Amini, the father of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, whose death in morality police custody in 2022 sparked nationwide protests, responded by reposting an image of one such interview.
“They killed my innocent daughter over a few strands of hair, and no one was held accountable,” he wrote on Instagram. “And now they film girls with bare heads … at official ceremonies and broadcast it, and no one cries out that Islamic rules have been broken. Strange times.”
Hijab enforcement in Iran has shifted unevenly since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests of 2022 and 2023, which forced authorities into a partial retreat in the face of widespread defiance. Increasing numbers of women now appear unveiled in public spaces, particularly in major cities.
But compulsory hijab remains law, and enforcement continues in institutional settings, including government offices, schools and universities.
Responding to Shaikh’s posts, US-based women’s rights activist Atieh Bakhtiar wrote on X that her experience did not reflect reality for most Iranian women.
“If thousands hadn’t died … the Islamic Republic would’ve arrested her and beaten her,” she said. “Instead, she’s their mouthpiece now.”
Within hours of the badges disappearing, accounts styled as satirical versions of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and senior official Ali Larijani began drawing thousands of views and followers.
One parody account using Larijani’s name published a post arguing that anyone who believes a meaningful agreement can be reached with the Islamic Republic is naïve.
Another account in Araghchi’s name, which was suspended later, published the monarchist slogan “Long live the King.”
X also removed blue ticks from accounts attributed to Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to a review of the platform.
An account using the name of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted a message suggesting he seek refuge with the Taliban. “If our friendly neighboring brothers, the Taliban, kindly issue six-month tourist visas, the situation is dire,” the post read.
Separately, parody accounts posing as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and late Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani posted mocking replies in comment threads.
One fake Ghalibaf account warned the United States that if it repeated a hostile act “once more, it will become twice,” mimicking official rhetoric in an exaggerated, satirical tone.
A parody account impersonating former president Ebrahim Raisi posted a Valentine’s Day message lamenting that “no one sent us a teddy bear,” while another billed itself as “the first president in Iran’s history to be eaten by a bear” – a darkly comic nod to the online satire that has persisted around his death.
Most of the new profiles visibly carry the label “Parody account,” a designation that appears when a user identifies their profile as satirical.
Under X rules, accounts that present themselves as real individuals without clearly disclosing their unofficial nature can face suspension, prompting many users to add the parody label to reduce the risk of removal.
A parody account created in Khamenei’s name drew nearly 9,000 followers within hours. Similar accounts impersonating Araghchi and Larijani quickly grew to more than 20,000 and about 12,000 followers, respectively.
Official silence, media warning
Islamic Republic officials have not formally addressed the wave of impersonations. The Guards-linked Tasnim website wrote that following the removal of blue verification badges, several fake accounts misusing Larijani’s name and image had become active.
The episode follows earlier disputes between Iranian authorities and the platform. In November, X introduced a location feature showing the approximate origin of posts.
The update exposed numerous pro-government figures and individuals tied to the Islamic Republic posting from inside Iran, enjoying a tiered, privileged internet, where most users must bypass state restrictions on social media through tools such as VPNs.
The platform also replaced the Islamic Republic flag emoji with the pre-1979 Lion and Sun emblem for accounts set to Iran, prompting criticism from pro-government users and praise from some opposition voices.
In recent weeks, parents and students from Mashhad, Gorgan, Tehran and other cities across Iran have described schools shifting from educational environments to spaces marked by heightened monitoring and questioning.
A student in the religious city of Mashhad said school officials and affiliated forces had searched students’ mobile phones and, in some cases, searched schoolbags.
After this started, a few of my classmates stopped coming to school, the student added.
Similar accounts have emerged from girls’ schools in Gorgan, northern Iran. Several students told Iran International that inspections were accompanied by what they described as an atmosphere of intimidation, leading some families to temporarily withdraw their children from classes.
Rising absenteeism amid safety fears
No official figures have been released on attendance rates, but interviews with teachers in Tehran and Alborz province suggest that classroom numbers have dropped in some schools.
“In a class of 25, some days fewer than half are present,” a high school teacher in Tehran said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. “Parents say they do not consider the situation safe.”
A mother of an eighth-grade student in eastern Tehran said she had allowed her child to stay home for several days. “School should be the safest place for a child,” she said. “When I hear about inspections and questioning, it is natural to hesitate.”
The latest reports follow earlier accounts of security forces and Basij members entering schools in cities including Abadan in the south, Arak and parts of Mazandaran province, north of Iran.
Families previously reported that students were asked to sign written pledges without their parents present. In Bandar Abbas, Malayer and Gorgan, students were questioned about their families and protest-related activities. In Arak and Sari, some educational facilities were said to have been used as bases for security forces.
‘Deep rupture' between families and schools
Saba Alaleh, a Paris-based clinical psychologist and socio-political psychoanalyst, told Iran International that the developments point to a structural break in trust.
“We are witnessing a profound psychological and social rupture between families and schools,” she said.
“This rupture is not limited to recent events; it is the result of years of accumulated distrust.”
Experiences during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022, when schools were described as spaces of fear and pressure, intensified that mistrust, Alaleh said.
“A school should provide a sense of security. When it becomes associated with surveillance and threat, it transforms into a source of anxiety,” she added.
She warned that exposure to inspections and questioning could have lasting consequences for children. “When students experience constant monitoring, education can lose its meaning,” she argued.
“This can lead to declining motivation, deeper distrust and even identity confusion.”
Healthy psychological development, Alaleh explained, depends on a functional partnership between family and school.
“When that bond collapses, children may find themselves caught between conflicting value systems, complicating their social and identity development,” she added.
Long-term consequences for education
Nahid Husseini, a London-based researcher on women’s affairs and education, said the recent developments reflect a broader crisis within the education system.
“When an educational environment is perceived as unsafe, it is natural for parents to withhold their children,” she told Iran International. “But the result is the deprivation of millions of students from their right to education.”
With Iran’s student population estimated at more than 15 million, Husseini said sustained absenteeism and declining trust in schools could have far-reaching social and economic consequences.
“Schools should be spaces of stability and growth. When they become associated with fear, the cost is borne not only by students but by society as a whole.”
A sanctuary no longer certain
For many families, the issue is no longer limited to temporary absences but to a broader shift in how they view the institution of schooling.
“In the past, even if there were problems, we still believed school was fundamentally safe,” a mother in Tehran said. “Now I feel my child is under pressure there.”
In the absence of transparent communication about the scope and purpose of security measures inside schools, distrust appears to be widening.
Experts warn that once a school loses its standing as a safe haven, rebuilding that trust may prove far more difficult – with implications that could shape a generation’s relationship with formal education for years to come.
