Nina Jamshidnejad
This article examines the complex relationship that Iranian women have with the compulsory hijab in Iran and the recent shift in their attitudes toward it. Using Sándor Ferenczi’s concept of “identification with the aggressor,” I explore how the imposition of the hijab, enforced by a repressive regime, led to an internalization of the aggressor’s values and beliefs. Through analyzing the phenomenon of identification with the aggressor that happens following traumatic events, the author argues that Iranian women internalized the regime’s power dynamics, resulting in a sense of fear, shame, and guilt associated with the abandonment of the hijab. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement, however, challenged this internalized oppression, sparking a collective shift toward defiance and liberation. Here, the author highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of identification with the aggressor in the contexts of political oppression, and underscores the crucial role of resistance and truth-telling in dismantling internalized forms of control.