Women in Iran remove hijabs to protest 22-yr-old’s death under custody of ‘moral police’
A large number of women protestors gathered and removed their black headscarves in protest of a young woman who died while in police custody in Iran.
A large number of women protestors gathered and removed their Hijab or the black headscarf in protest of a young woman who died while in police custody in Tehran earlier this week after being arrested by the moral police. The protestors chanted anti-government slogans and called for the death of the “dictator government”.
Notably, Iran has been witnessing protests in several regions including, in the hometown of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the so-called “morality police” after claiming that the woman was not wearing the hijab properly.
Although police released a video of Amini collapsing after being fainted in the police station, protestors alleged she had suffered serious injuries during the police custody. A relative has said she had no history of heart disease. The Kasra hospital in Tehran, where police took Amini after she collapsed and slipped into a coma, said she was brought in without vital signs.
Removing the hijab is a punishable offence in Iran since 1979. The same year Islamic Revolution and members of the morality police enforced the strict dress code for women. On several occasions, women protest against the contentious law on social media platforms and in public places.
Since the death of the 22-year-old woman, a debate has sparked against the “morality police” in the Islamic Republic. During the funeral ceremony of the victim, some protesters gathered in front of the governor’s building, chanting slogans, which prompted Iranian police to fire tear gas to disperse the protestors.
Though the government or police said there were no injuries took place in the protest, several videos of people facing grave injuries surfaced on social media platforms. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian activist shared several videos of women removing their hijabs and how protestors were being harmed by the police.
Compulsory and controversial hijab rule in Iran
It is worth mentioning the headscarf has been compulsory for women in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and members of the morality police enforce the strict dress code. The force has been criticised in recent years over its treatment of people, especially young women, and videos uploaded on social media have shown officers forcing women into police vehicles.
Since 2017, after dozens of women publicly took off their headscarves in a wave of protests, authorities have adopted tougher measures. Despite protests, Iranian hard-liners have called for harsh punishment and even lashes of women who disobey the hijab law, arguing that allowing women to show their hair leads to moral decay and the disintegration of families.
