More than 40 lives have reportedly been lost amidst the anti-dresscode protests currently underway in Iran. Protests in the country (and across social media) were sparked nearly two weeks ago by the unlawful, brutal murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, following ‘stricter’ dress code regulations decreed by Iranian President, Embrahim Raisi in August.
Since the news of Mahsa’s death, women across Iran and the internet have rallied together in protest by burning their mandatory headscarves in objection to Mahsa Amini’s murder by the ‘morality police’.
@thedaaal Please share this videos and be the sound of Iran. Meanwhile the president of Iran is in United States for United nation and he’s denying everything. #mahsaamini #mahsa_amini #iran #justiceforiran #justice #war #civilian #Iran #iran🇮🇷 #sharethis #viral #viralvideo #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #iraniangirl #iranianprotests2022 #protest #dictatoship #fightingfreedom #womenpower #power ♬ original sound – em🤍
Meanwhile, there have been reports of the Iranian government shutting down internet access, in what WIRED called a ‘deadly crackdown’.
In other heart-wrenching footage that has gone viral online, we see an Iranian woman, crying inconsolably, as she takes scissors to her hair, over her brother’s grave. Her brother, Jeyvad Heydari, was killed during the anti-hijab protests.
@gghamari Replying to @janierichardson0 Javad Heydari was murdered by the illegitimate and terrorist Islamic Regime in Iran because he wanted freedom. #PoliticiansOfTikTok #QueensParkTiktok #OnPoli #Ontario #Ottawa #Canada #Toronto #tiktokpolitics #iran #persiantiktok #iraniantiktok #iranprotests2022 #iranprotests #IranRevolution #MahsaAmini #Mahsa_Amini #حدیث_نجفی #مهسا_امینی ♬ original sound – em🤍
Last week, the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, was scheduled for an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour following Mahsa Amini’s death and the anti-hijab protests. At the last minute, the Iranian president demanded that Amanpour wear a headscarf for the interview, despite the interview taking place in the US. When Amanpour refused these demands, the president cancelled the interview and left.
In an interview with The Daily Show, Amanpour tells Trevor Noah that she has interviewed plenty of Iranian presidents before but wearing a headscarf was never a requirement. She added that the Iranian president had a number of engagements before their planned interview that day, including breakfast where he interacted with other women (not wearing headscarves) without saying a word in edgewise.
Christiane’s response when she was asked to wear a headscarf for the interview was “Why? No? I don’t have to wear a scarf.”
This sentence, (whilst true – journalists aren’t required to follow Iranian dress code under UN gridlock on American soil) reflects the tight grasp Iranian government has on women’s rights. In Iran, women don’t have the same right to choose.
How many lives will be lost before this can be resolved?
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Feature Image: Mohamed Azakir
