Unrelated Videos Shared As Iranian Women Removing Hijab Recently.

A video containing three different clips, where women can be seen throwing off their hijab, went viral on social media claiming it to be from Iran. Sharing the video, a user wrote, “A changing picture in Iran ✊

Muslim girls are bravely removing the hijab,

raising their voices against forced rules.

This is not just protest —

it’s a fight for choice, identity, and freedom.

The world is watching a powerful change”

Instagram Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The viral video is unrelated to the ongoing situation in Iran. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. 

First Clip & Second Clip

A reverse image search of the screenshots from the first clip led us to an Instagram handle adela.xia where the viral video was uploaded on September 7, 2025.

The video features a text overlay in French, which translates to, “At Bastille, we removed the symbol that reduces millions of women to invisibility.”

We found another video (shot from a different angle) similar to the viral video on the same Instagram handle.

The English translation of the caption read, “Ex-Muslims gather in front of the Bastille Square.”

The translation of the bio of the Instagram handle reads, “I am a former Muslim; I fight against discrimination and defend human rights, emancipation, and individual freedoms.”

We could spot the owner of the Instagram handle in the viral video.

The Instagram post mentioned Place de la Bastille. Conducting a relevant keyword search we came to know that the place in the viral video is in Paris. The column seen in the viral video is the July Column which commemorates the July Revolution.

A comparison between the screenshots from the viral video and the Google Maps images can be seen below.

We could find the second clip on the same Instagram handle uploaded on 31 October 2025.

Instagram Link 

For more information, we tried to contact the owner of the Instagram handle. We will update here if we get a response.

We searched again and found some photos on a Facebook profile that matched the viral video and also saw photos of the owner of the Facebook profile with the women in the viral video.

We tried to contact the person and he replied that the women in the video are from Algeria and Morocco. They removed their veils in Paris and left Islam.

This proves that the first and second clips are unrelated to the recent Iranian protests.

Third Clip

A reverse image search of the third clip led us to a YouTube channel where a longer version was uploaded on 4 July 2022. 

The description of the video read, “Thierry Ardisson welcomes Henda Ayari to publish “I Chose to Be Free” with Flammarion

Henda Ayari decided to take off her veil to become a free woman.

She was born in Rouen to North African parents. The death of her cousin brought her closer to religion. “At that moment, it was the first time I was confronted with the death of someone very dear to me.”

Her mother beat her, and she withdrew into herself. She met a man who introduced her to Islam. “I saw all men as perverts, and the veil was the right way to protect myself from that.”

“I wanted to belong to a community as a Muslim.” She also explains that wearing the veil in the city commanded respect.

At 24, she met a woman, Hasnia, who explained to her that “society is the devil.”

Hasnia introduced her to her future Salafist husband. She realised who had lied to her about her job. Then he forbade her from going to college, from wearing skirts, from praying at the mosque.

She explained that her husband beat her even when she was pregnant.

She was divorced by her husband one day when he thought he heard her talking on the phone with a man. She explained that Salafist women should never remain alone and should be independent: “She must be under the control of a man.”

To get her husband to come back, she faked suicide. One day, he tried to strangle her, and she decided to leave him, taking her children.

The description indicated that the video was from 12 November 2016.

Further investigation led us to the Instagram handle of Henda Ayari, who shared the clip on 19 March 2025. 

The caption of the post read, “One of the most powerful moments of my life…

Thank you Thierry Ardisson 🙏💖

For me and for all the women who have chosen to be free!”

This makes it clear that the viral clips are unrelated to the ongoing protests in Iran.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral clips are unrelated to the ongoing protests in Iran. The first two clips show women from Algeria and Morocco removing their veils and leaving Islam. The third clip shows activist Henda Ayari, who removed her hijab on a TV show in 2016.