As Iranians revolt against the brutal Islamic theocracy that has throttled their civilisation since 1979, striking images of young Persian women have been circulating online. They are lighting cigarettes by burning photographs of Ayatollah Khamenei. With their insouciant attitude, tumbles of curls, kohl-lined eyes and lolling fags, they could be on the cover of an Arcade Fire album.

Originally a symbol of protest among the Iranian diaspora, the trend has now caught on in Iran. These women have reignited the same spirit that sparked widespread protests across the country in September 2022, when Mahsa Amini died in custody following her arrest for disobeying the country’s modesty laws. In the aftermath of this, female protestors burnt their veils, cut their hair in public and chanted ‘Women, Life, Freedom’. Although the grievances of today’s protesters are much broader, with demands for the fall of the Islamic Republic, Iranian women are once again at the forefront of the unrest, demanding their liberation after decades of subjugation.

The stakes for women in Iran couldn’t be higher

The bravery on display is breathtaking. In a devil-may-care act of defiance, young ladies are putting their lives on the line by smoking in public, discarding their hijabs and openly insulting the Supreme Leader’s image – a grave crime that could lead to prison, torture and even death. It is a raised middle finger – sometimes quite literally – to a regime intent on eviscerating women’s rights, suppressing dissent and enforcing Islamic governance, including blasphemy laws, the criminalisation of apostasy and mandatory hijabs.

One might expect choruses of violent assent from liberal women in the West, who make it their mission to dismantle the........

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