Women in Iran are cutting their hair short and dressing as men to avoid the harsh morality police, it has been reported.

(Article by Julian Robinson , republished from //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3604661/Women-Iran-cutting-hair-short-dressing-men-avoid-harsh-morality-police.html)

Pictures are increasingly emerging on social media of women defying strict laws in Iran where penalties are imposed for not wearing a hijab.

It comes days after a number of models were arrested and forced to grovel in public for posting glamorous pictures of themselves online without headscarves.

Police arrested eight models in the new crackdown which targeted ‘un-Islamic acts’ such as women exposing their hair.

One famous beauty, Elham Arab, known for her wedding-dress portraits, was interrogated on camera at the Iranian Revolutionary Court with her blonde hair hidden under a black chador.

But despite the crackdown women are still sharing images of themselves in public with their hair uncovered, the Independent reports.

One shows a black and white picture of a woman with short hair and wearing jeans.

A caption alongside the image says: ‘I am an Iranian girl. In order to avoid the morality police, I decided to cut my hair short and wear men’s clothes so that I can freely walk in the streets in Iran.’

Another shows a woman – again with short hair – driving a car as a man drives past on a scooter.

The images were shared on the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom, set up by New York based Iranian activist Masih Alinejad.

According to the Independent, she launched a campaign calling for an end to compulsory hijab-wearing.

The arrests were made under an scheme called ‘Spider II’, targeting models who post photos online in which they are not wearing a hijab (stock image)