By Victoria Camarena October 8, 2022
On September 16th, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini was murdered. She was arrested on September 13th, 2022 for not having her hijab on appropriately according to government standards, she wore it loosely, showing strands of hair. Witnesses say she was severely beaten by police, she died in the hospital on September 16th, 2022. Women in Iran are being persecuted and the persecution needs to end!
Thursday, October 6th, is the 20th day of protest in Iran. Women have gone out without their hijab, burning them in protest. They have also documented the violence in Iran to share with the outside world. The government has shut down online communication. This protest has resulted in at least 52 victims killed and 1,000 arrested.
Not only are protests happening in the streets but also in schools. As said in the article by Sanjana Karanth, “With the school year has started, the spotlight has turned to high schools and universities, where female children, teenagers, and young adults are keeping up the movement’s momentum. Videos show girls across the country taking off their hijabs, chanting slogans, setting fire to their headscarves, giving the middle finger to photos of the country’s leaders, and marching in the streets”. At Tehran's Sharif University of Technology, riot police trapped students in a car parking lot, shooting at women and protesters. In the past few weeks protest has spread over the whole country. Girls in Iran are chanting expressions like “Death to the dictator”, “Woman, life, freedom”, and “Mullahs must get lost”. Students are saying “Don’t call it a protest, it's a revolution now.”
We need to spread awareness of what is happening in Iran. Women in Iran are being mistreated because of how they wear their headwear. Women all over the world have fought for their rights, we need to stand with Iranian women and help them gain their rights back.
Work cited:
Sanjana Karanth. “Iran's Teenage Girls Are Leading The Protests For Women’s Rights” https://apple.news/Aw8snazaORMWqNjsSH9yFoA
Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mahsa_Amini