Anti-Government Protests in Iran Explode after Death of Mahsa Amini

By Shoshana Newman ‘24 
    Three days after being arrested in Tehran, Iran, for wearing a loose headscarf, 22 year old Mahsa Amini died on September 16th, 2022, sparking protests against the religious Iranian government who many believe murdered Amini for disobeying the nation’s strict Islamic law. 

Protestors so far have faced severe resistance from the government, resulting in injuries, mass arrests and 215 deaths, including as many as 58 children according to The Guardian.
Amini was arrested on September 13th for violation of the country's law on headscarves. Hijabs are required in public for all women in Iran, notwithstanding nationality or religion. 
Although the Iranian police state Amini’s death was caused by heart failure, her family and other Iranians accuse the government of murder.  Witnesses report seeing police beat Amini in their car on route to a detention center. 
Amini’s father told the media that he was denied clearance to see her body at the hospital. Her death was later confirmed to have been caused by a skull fracture.
After Amini’s funeral on September 17th, protests began in her hometown and quickly spread all over Iran, including in the capital of Tehran. 
At the protests, Iranian women have burned their hijabs and cut their hair in public to show solidarity with Amini and all Iranian women. Viral videos on social media showing Iranian police abusing the peaceful protestors has caused them to expand worldwide. 
The Iranian government accuses the protestors of creating a disturbance throughout Iran and the world, and blames Israel and the US for sparking the conflict. 
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, said, “What you see is people who are fed up with a regime. Not only do they take away people’s civil rights and political rights, but they also interfere in people’s most private aspects of life, like what you wear.” 
Protesters state that their actions are not just about women’s rights or hijab laws, but are intended to bring awareness to the cruel reality of living under the oppressive and theocratic Iranian regime. To them, Amini’s death has become a symbol of the brutal persecution Iranian women have faced for the past several decades. 
The United Nations human rights panel stated, “We strongly condemn the use of physical violence against women and the denial of fundamental human dignity when enforcing compulsory hijab policies ordained by State authorities...We call on the Iranian authorities to hold an independent, impartial and prompt investigation into Ms. Amini’s death, make the findings of the investigation public and hold all perpetrators accountable.”