Iran Breaks Out in Protests After “Morality Police” Kill Young Woman
(RepublicanNews.org) – In Iran, authorities demand women wear hijabs in public. The country has a special “morality police” to enforce these policies. A woman recently died after being in law enforcement’s custody, leading to massive protests across Iran.
The Death of Mahsa Amini
Iran’s morality police, which is responsible for enforcing the country’s strict dress code, apprehended 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for not wearing her veil. Law enforcement allegedly dragged her into a van and tortured her. Three days after her arrest, the young woman died in a hospital where staff had been treating her for head trauma. Activists claim Amini suffered a blow to her head while she was in custody. Iranian authorities have denied these allegations.
Iranian Law
Since 1979, when the Islamic Revolution threw the last Shah of Iran — Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom the West supported — out of power, women in Iran have been obligated to wear their headscarves when in public. The country’s guidance patrol, known as the Gasht-e Ershad, has the ability to arrest and charge women they find have disobeyed the dress code, but officials typically let offenders off with warnings.
Iranian Protests
Following the death of 22-year-old Amini, protests, largely led by women, erupted in the streets of the community where the young woman was from, in the northern part of the Kurdistan province. The movement eventually spread to other parts of the country including Tehran, Rasht, Mashhad, and Bandar Abbas. Women are reportedly cutting their hair and burning their hijabs.
Protestors are clashing with the nation’s police force, which is becoming overwhelmed by the protests. The clash is growing to be the largest the country has seen since 2019, when there was civil unrest over a rise in gasoline prices. The demonstrations have turned deadly and have resulted in several deaths including a member of a pro-government militia and a police officer. Activists say police have used live fire against protestors.
These demonstrations could be the beginning of a new revolution in Iran. Women are beginning to stand up for themselves in a country where they have been submissive for decades. The protests are certain to put pressure on the Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, who is currently in New York for a United Nations General Assembly. Raisi was already facing criticism over his country’s record riddled with human rights abuses.
Could this be the beginning of a new era in Iran where women have the same rights as men and demand the same respect?
Copyright 2022, RepublicanNews.org
