Iran Unrest: Anti-Hijab protests rock Iran over an Iranian woman’s death in custody
-
Roshan Amiri
- . September 22, 2022
- . Update: September 22, 2022 2:03 pm
Iran has been witnessing massive protests by people against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s “morality police” for violating the nation’s dress code.
Anti-Hijab protests rock Iran as the incident simmered anger among women in the country. The unrest in Tehran, the capital of Iran, has increased to the next level, with a video going viral of a woman chopping her hair in public in the capital city. Another video of a woman dancing went viral on Twitter. Women are not allowed to show their hair or dance in the country.
Several Iranian women on social media started uploading their videos of chopping off hair and setting their Hijabs on fire. Many Iranian women have opposed the law which makes Hijab compulsory for women in the Islamic nation.
Under Iran’s sharia (Islamic) law, imposed after the 1979 revolution, women in the country are obliged to cover their hair completely and wear loose-fitting clothes to cover their body shape. Violators usually face fines or arrests.
Read | UN calls for probe into Iranian woman’s death amid protests
The Iranian morality police are charged with enforcing restrictions on women’s clothing, which has been criticised in recent years by various human rights organisations.
Last week, Mahsa Amini died after falling into a coma after her detention for allegedly not complying with strict rules of the country and not covering her hair properly. Human rights activists said that there were reports that Amini was beaten on the head with a baton by Iran’s morality police officers. However, police rejected allegations on social media that Amini was beaten by the morality police.
Nada Al-Nashif, the acting U.N. high commissioner for human rights, also demanded an independent investigation into the death of the Iranian woman. The U.N. Human Rights Office also said that Iran’s morality police have expanded their patrols in recent months in the country.
