Mahsa Amini’s Arrest
A 22-year-old woman from Iran died after being arrested by the morality police forces of Iran. Her reason for the arrest was “wearing the hijab incorrectly” and being “unsuitably dressed”. She died in a Tehran Hospital after being arrested and her death was expounded as a “sudden” heart attack by the Tehran Police however, her family has said that she had no known health conditions also considering a heart disease before. Despite the Police denying this, there are several witnesses of Mahsa Amini being perpetrated by violence and getting beaten in the police force’s vehicle. Additionally, she was seen being connected to breathing tubes with a bleeding ear in the hospital which makes it even less reasonable that her reason for death was a sudden heart attack. After this incident put a question mark in minds, women in Iran started protests by dancing in the street and waving their hijabs in the air, and shouting, “Down with the Dictator”, which are all illegal, as a tribute to Mahsa Amini and considered the harsh restrictions on women’s choice of dressing. Moreover, young woman death has affected many people globally and countries such as Italy, Canada, Australia, etc. also started to protest; especially women cutting their hair symbolically.
Iran’s law on hijab
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, hijab and wearing clothes that cover arms and legs have been compulsory in Iran. After April 1983, the hijab became obligatory even for non-Muslim people living in Iran and foreigners who visit Iran. In-depth, girls at a young age such as 7 are being forced to wear hijab as well. This regulation also has an impact on regulating especially women’s attire and lifestyle based on Islamic culture. Furthermore, this revolution also applies to men and their dress code.
Protests and their impact
Meanwhile, the protests are still ongoing in Iran and also globally, Iran’s religious leader Khamenei has accused the United States and Israel of being behind these protests. Furthermore, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has stated that Mahsa Amani’s death saddened everyone in the Islamic Republic, however, “chaos” will not be accepted, and therefore implied that the protests will be intervened. Although both the Iranian government and its police force are being unreliable about the Mahsa Amini’s case and people are imprisoned and subjected to violence for protesting, Iranian women keep fighting for their lives and their basic rights both from online platforms and protests in the streets physically. These protests once again demonstrate the importance of laicism because no matter what religion a government decides to form its beliefs on, all folks must be able to choose what is right for them and they must be able to access basic human rights regardless of their gender or religion. Women in all countries deserve to live with the basic rights in which they can choose the way they dress, whether they want to drive a car alone or not, and not be imprisoned for such things as dancing in the streets as a way of protesting and they deserve to live freely without being accused of not being ethical and not being restricted due to corruptedly reflected religious culture’s impositions. Furthermore, considering Mahsa Amini’s saddening death and all the women in Iran being murdered for not dressing suitably, according to Islam a person’s way of living their religion and beliefs is a matter between them and Allah. In conclusion, no religious or political force is in charge of murdering anyone or even judging them by the way they choose to dress under the name of Islamic values. Ergo, these protests and Iranian women seeking their basic rights must be heard, spread, and taken care of also by international stakeholders.
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