Kurdish men in Iran have dressed in drag after a court ordered a man to walk down the street in women's clothing in an attempt to humiliate him.
More than 150 men have posted photographs of themselves in traditional female Kurdish clothing as part of the ‘Kurd men for Equality’ campaign against the sexist nature of sentence.
The campaign’s tagline is: ‘Being a woman is not a way for humiliation or punishment.’
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Campaigners are protesting after a man was forced to walk down the street in women's clothing as a form of 'humiliation'
The campaigners argue that being a woman should not be a form of punishment or humiliation
The Marivian County tribunal court sentenced the man to the unusual punishment on April 15.
Witnesses said he was forced to walk in public in a red tchador, a type of traditional women’s clothing.
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Journalist Saman Rasoulpour told Gay Star News: ‘[In] this way, authorities are able to both demean the accused and deliver a warning to the public.
‘This is the first time in Iran that an accused is paraded in women’s clothes in the streets to humiliate him. It is unprecedented anywhere in Iran.’
The campaign was started on Facebook on April 18 and now has more than 9,000 fans and features messages of support from campaigners around the world.
Contributor Ala M wrote: ‘For many years, women in my country have been side-by-side with men, wearing men’s clothes, struggling. Tonight I am happy and honored to wear women’s clothes and be even a small part of the rightful struggle of people to express gratitude and excellence to the women of my country.’
Women have joined the campaign by dressing in men’s clothes.
In response 17 members of Iran’s parliament signed a letter sent to the Justice Ministry condemning the sentence as ‘humiliating to Muslim women,’ with one MP criticising it during a session of parliament.
More than 150 men have posted photographs of themselves dressed in either traditional (left) or modern (right) women's clothing
The campaign now has 9,000 fans on Facebook, and has attracted international attention
The day after the sentence was carried out a local feminist movement launched a protest against it
Around 100 men and women attended the Marivan Women’s Community organisation protest at the sexist nature of the sentencing.
In 2009 student and civil activist Majid Tavakoli was photographed leaving a public speech on Iran’s Student Day wearing a hijab. While police claim that he had worn the garment to avoid detection, human rights activists said that he had been forced to wear it.
In response hundreds of Iranian men posted photos of themselves in the clothing online in protest to the ‘immoral’ treatment of him.
Iranian man is paraded through the street dressed as a woman
