Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, women’s rights activist and author of best-selling memoir, The Wind in My Hair. As a prominent critic of Iran’s government, her defiance has earned a formidable reputation — so much so that The New York Times has characterized Alinejad as “The woman whose hair frightens Iran.”
Alinejad’s activism has put her in the crosshairs of the Iranian regime, with three attempts made on her life on American soil. In March 2025, two members of a Russian criminal mob were found guilty by a Manhattan District Court of plotting to kill Alinejad.
Born and raised in northern Iran, Alinejad started her professional career as a parliamentary journalist in Tehran, where her articles often got her into trouble with the authorities. In 2009, she was forced to leave Iran after the crackdown on the protests against the disputed presidential elections.
Undeterred, Alinejad focused on highlighting human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. In 2014, Alinejad launched the My Stealthy Freedom/White Wednesday campaign against compulsory veiling, which has become the largest civil disobedience campaign in the history of Islamic Republic. Her activism has come at a personal cost — her brother was sentenced to 8 years in prison, her sister was forced to denounce Alinejad on national TV.
In 2021, she co-founded World Liberty Congress along with Leopoldo Lopez and Garry Kasparov to unite dissidents and pro-democracy activists. Last year the WLC members elected Alinejad as president.
Today, she has more than ten million followers on her social media accounts and receives thousands of messages daily from inside Iran.