Dana Bakdounis holds up her password, expressing she doesn't want to wear a veil anymore

Nov 21, 2012 13:20 GMT  ·  By

The Facebook page “The Uprising of Women in the Arab World” is gaining a lot of attention recently, as one user posted a photo dubbed controversial, to say the least.

In this striking shot, Dana Bakdounis has her hair cut very short. She holds up her passport, and her picture reveals she used to have long hair, and would cover it up with a veil, for religious reasons. The photo exposes the striking contrast between two worlds.

In late October, Dana, a resident of Syria, born in Saudi Arabia, uploaded her photo to the Facebook page where Arab women defend their rights, France 24 writes.

Looking as though she is enjoying a new lease on life and self-proclaimed freedom, she holds a note up explaining why she wants to live without the veil.

“I’m with the uprising of women in the Arab world because, for 20 years, I wasn’t allowed to feel the wind in my hair and [on] my body,” it reads.

The snapshot was taken down by the website, following reports of controversial content. As a result of Dana's upload, the creator of the page was banned for 24 hours. The incident prompted a women's rights debate, as many support her declaration of independence.

The pic was reuploaded, and 70,000 users have liked the page so far, many of which posted their own messages and photos.

Do you think Facebook was right in banning this photograph?