Mahsa Amini died from torture and beatings by Iran’s “Morality Police” September 16, 2022. Her crime? Her face covering or hijab did not fall into parameters set forth by the regime.
Mahsa Amini lived in the northwestern part of Iran but had traveled with her brother to Tehran for a visit on September 13, 2022. While in Tehran, as Amini and her brother walked down the sidewalk, a van pulled up and the “morality police” piled out, confronted Amini about her hijab. She was advised it did not meet their standards and they forcefully took her and put her into the van, assaulting her in the process. The “police” advised she was being taken to an “educational” class to reform her behavior. Amini later ended up in ICU in a Tehran hospital with obvious signs of torture and blows to the head. On September 16, 2022, Amini died from massive head injuries and lungs “filled with blood” according to hospital staff that treated her. Although the Iranian government denied responsibility, the article regarding the medical providers statements can be read here.
What would follow next would shock Iran’s leaders and garner support from around the world. Protests from both men and women in Iran grew in size and went on for days. Unfortunately, Iran’s brutal leaders cracked down on protestors as calls for the regime to be ousted grew. Hundreds of protestors were killed, simply shot dead in the street by the police as though they were paper targets, thousands arrested with some eventually executed after a “trial”. This is typical of how the Iranian government runs it’s country yet today, many women in Iran no longer wear the hijab or simply cover just the top of the head and let hair be seen, because as one stated, “they can’t handle us all.” Women dancing in public is still prohibited under Sharia law but some do it as a means of defiance without much fear of arrest. While the women have very little freedom in Iran, Mahsa Amini’s death inspired a revolution. To us, not wearing a hijab in public may seem like a minor thing but in Iran and other Islamic areas, this is a very large thing. Please take a minute to think about Mahsa Amini, the movement started in her memory and the protestors killed trying to secure their freedom. The very same freedoms we in the United States take for granted and piss away like last night’s cheap wine.
For a more detailed look at Amini’s story, please watch this video.
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