The Wind in My Hair

BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week

Childhood in Iran – Episode 1

BBC Radio 4. picks The Wind in My Hair, as its book of the week. Masih Alinejad is a journalist and activist from a small village in Iran, who sparked against compulsory hijab. Across Iran, women started sharing pictures of their uncovered hair on Masih’s Facebook page in open defiance of the strict religious beliefs of their country – and often, their families.
But Masih’s journey began in a small and impoverished village in northern Iran before she made her way to some of the country’s top newspapers. Her writings angered many powerful people in Iran who forced her into exile.

In this first episode, she remembers the advice her mother gave her to overcome obstacles

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Political Reporter – Episode 4

Political Reporter – Episode 4
Masih begins a new career as a political journalist in Iran, exposing corruption in Iranian politics. While she gains readers, she also begins to be threatened by the authorities. Meanwhile, she faces divorce and losing custody of her son.

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A Memoir That Came to Life When She Removed Her Hijab

The first time Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist, walked in public without her hijab was in 2006. She was a 30-year-old columnist for Etemad-e-Melli, a now defunct Iranian daily newspaper, and working on a series of articles in Beirut, Lebanon. Ms. Alinejad, who was on her first trip outside of Iran, was immediately struck by the city’s relatively relaxed attitude toward women’s appearance in public.