It’s the first anniversary of the Iranian people’s valiant revolt against the mandatory hijab law, and what is Britain doing? Erecting a vast monument in praise of the hijab. Building a colossal steel statue of a hijab-wearing woman titled Strength of the Hijab. Sixteen feet tall, a tonne weight, imperious and imposing, the statue is designed to bring ‘visibility’ to this apparently misunderstood Islamic garment. Take that, ladies of Iran – you burn the hijab, we build monuments to it.

There are times when only that old tabloid phrase, ‘You couldn’t make it up’, will do. This is one of those times. It is nothing short of extraordinary that the existence of this mammoth Islamic sculpture, this steel deification of the veil, was revealed in the same week that we marked the first anniversary of the rebellion against Iran’s veil-enforcing theocracy.

The statue will be officially installed in the Smethwick area of the West Midlands in October. It was commissioned by Legacy West Midlands, a charity that celebrates the contributions of postwar migrants to British society.