Iran Women Cut Hair, Burn Hijab To Protest Death Of 22-Year-Old In Custody

NDTV-Sept 19 th2022

Protests have broken out in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, in which Iranian women are publicly removing their hijabs and burning them. Ms Amini was arrested by Iran’s “Morality Police” for “improperly” donning the hijab because she had not completely covered her hair. According to a Reuters report, she died on Friday after falling into a coma following her arrest in Tehran earlier in the week, putting a spotlight on women’s rights in Iran. Police rejected social media suspicions that she was beaten, saying she fell ill as she waited with other detained women.

But on social media, a number of videos from the protests that show demonstrators shouting anti-government slogans have gone viral. In some videos, Iranian forces are seen using tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

In a symbolic act of opposition to the severe Iranian rule requiring women over the age of seven to wear religious headscarves, some female protesters chopped off their hair and burned their hijabs.

Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad tweeted a video and said, “Iranian women show their anger by cutting their hair and burning their hijab to protest against the killing of #Mahsa_Amini by hijab police. From the age of 7 if we don’t cover our hair we won’t be able to go to school or get a job. We are fed up with this gender apartheid regime.”

Read more on the original:

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/mahsa-aminis-death-iranian-women-cut-hair-burn-their-hijabs-3356874