Women’s Right Protests in Iran
What is going on in Iran?
There have been widespread women’s rights protests in Iran for the past month. These protesters are calling out the government and requesting personal and political liberties. But most importantly they are demanding justice for 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The protests, which according to news sources have spread to over 80 cities, have sparked unjustifiable violence against protesters by the Iranian police force and security, as well as hundreds of arrests. There have been repeated shutdowns and disruptions of internet connections and limited use of the most popular social media services by the government such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
Regardless, people have continued to use mediums to show their defiance, even with the threat to their lives.
What Happened to Mahsa Amini?
Mahsa Amini was the young woman whose death sparked these protests. Amini was hospitalized on September 16, as she had been beaten into a coma while being detained by the Irshad patrols known as the ‘morality police in Tehran for wearing her hijab too loosely which is against government standards. Though the police claim that the 22-year-old died of a heart attack, her family came out to say that the young woman’s body showed bruises as a result of torture.
The police also released a video showing Amini holding her face and falling to the ground. But her family discredited the video, saying it was edited and that she had no prior health issues. An Iranian medical official also corroborated the family’s claim, saying that the young woman died from a blow to the head.
Following the news of her death, family members and civilians gathered outside the hospital to pay their respects and protest. Several people were arrested after security forces attacked the gathering.
As a result of contacting international media and rights organizations, the family was subjected to intense pressure and threats from security agencies, “Kasra hospital is under strict security measures and no definite answer has been given about the time the body would be handed to the family,” Amini’s family relative told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
Niloofar Hamedi, an Iranian journalist who specializes in women’s rights, took a photo of Mahsa Amini’s parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma. The photo, which Hamedi posted on Twitter on Sept. 16, was what introduced the situation to the world and showed them that Amini wasn’t doing well. Hamedi has since been arrested and her Twitter account suspended.
The Women’s Right Protest Movement
International protests began to express anger over a range of issues, not just hijab restrictions for women but also the current regime. At one of the protests, a street full of Iranians chanted “death to the oppressor, be it the shah or the supreme leader!” Targeting economic and political nerve centres of the regime, even some gas and oil refineries have also turned into sites of protests. With some success, protesters have even called for economic strikes. All these actions are set to put a strain on the Iranian government.
These protests have Iran looking like a battlefield and although the death tolls have not officially been confirmed, the gruesome pictures online speak a thousand words. Even with the state of this unrest, young girls have taken up positions on the frontlines of the protests, fighting for their future. Others, including women around the world, support by cutting their hair in solidarity or in some cases removing their hijabs and hanging them as flags.
Experts say this inspiring movement shows no sign of slowing down. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime and its security forces are showing no signs of mercy.
All images are sourced from twitter
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