On September 16 2022, a 22 year old Kurdish-Iranian woman named Mahsa Jina Amini (Persian: مهسا امینی) died at the hands of the notorious ‘Morality Police’ whilst visiting her family in Tehran.
Whilst Iran’s government claimed she died of a heart condition, her family and the public knew she had been arrested and brutally beaten for wearing her hijab improperly.
Women and girls across Iran, all too familiar with the violence and brutality of the regime and their enforcement of the mandatory hijab, could not help thinking:
'I could have been Mahsa.'
Thousands take to the streets across Iran in a show of outrage and solidarity. Women at the forefront and men at their side, women gather on streets throughout Iran and set their headscarves on fire, risking their lives to speak out.
As part of the protests, women began to cut or shave off their hair, an ancient Persian tradition found in the literary text Shahnameh, an act that symbolises when the fury of the grieving is stronger than the power of the oppressor.
In public places, at home on social media, and at the gravesites of their family members who were brutally killed in the protests against the regime, their act of anger and defiance propels the rebellion and garners international attention to the movement in Iran.
The pent up frustrations of 43 years of theocratic rule, fuel the daily protests.
The security forces and Basiji militia respond with brutal force, beating and shooting protestors, running them over with cars and motorcycles, arresting, assaulting and torturing them.
The government attempts to supress the uprising through a series of disinformation campaigns and restricting internet use throughout the country. A tactic they often use to make it hard for Iranians to share what is truly happening with the rest of the world.
“At this point the protests are not just about Mahsa any more. It’s about freedom of choice, inflation, unemployment and dictatorship; one under which our futures are being erased. The regime killing Mahsa has reminded us about realities of our daily lives. Killing one of our sisters was the final straw.”
-Mohsin, 19 years, Mashhad
“In the past few days, the fight on the streets has gone beyond Mahsa Amini’s death. It is now about vengeance. (...) We women in Iran aren’t weak. We are like any young women across the world. Tell the world that we are alive and fighting– at least for now.”
– Rona, 20yrs, Tehran
