Iranian women protest against the death of a 22-year-old in moral police custody

Protests erupted in Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the moral police. Women protesters chopped off their hair and burnt hijabs to demonstrate their fury over the death of Mahsa Amini and to protest against the mandatory veiling of women in the country.

Several videos of protesters cutting their hair and burning hijabs are doing the rounds on social media. The protesters also took to the streets, some dressed up as men, to manifest their feelings toward their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They chanted “death to the dictator,” directly targeting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and tore down his posters.

The police had to resort to using tear gas, and there are reports that the police have shot down one man.

Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when the moral police detained her for allegedly violating the strict dress code imposed in the country. As per the official reports, she was rushed to a hospital following a cardiac arrest, where she was declared dead.

However, the police officials have claimed that she was not subjected to physical assault while being held in custody and cited her previous health issues as the reason for her death. But some reports indicate that she had suffered a blow to the head when they tried to detain her, resulting in her death. The authorities have ordered a probe into her death.

The women in Iran have been protesting the strict dress code, including the complete head covering, for some time now. But Mahsa Amini’s death has added fuel to the fuel and has generated furore that is unlikely to subside anytime soon.