While we have been debating about Brahmastra and its entire hullabaloo in India, Iran is on the streets. You ask, why? Many Iranians have stepped out to protest for the fundamental rights of women against the practice of wearing hijab, a mandatory Islamic dress code in nation as per the law.
So, here’s everything that you should know about the ongoing Iran protests:
The uproar is taking place over the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini. Amini reportedly died in the custody of Iran’s morality police on 16th of September after allegedly violating the hijab dress code.
As per an AP report, Amini was detained on 13th of September in Tehran for wearing a loose hijab while she was visiting her hometown. She reportedly collapsed in the police station and died a few days later.
Contrary to this, Iran’s security forces stated that Amini died of a heart attack at a detention centre. She was being trained about the hijab rules, New York Times reported.
Amini’s family stated that she was perfectly healthy before her arrest, the report added.
Protests had initially erupted in the northern province of Kurdistan and later spread to at least 50 cities across Iran.
Many Iranian women removed headscarves/hijabs from their heads and twirled in the air as signs of protest. Some of them even cut their hair in public. An Iranian man, who tried to save women, took shotgun pellets on himself. Photos and videos of such incidents are going viral on Twitter.
This photo of chopped hair being hoisted as a black flag is going insanely viral on Twitter.
On Thursday, the Iranian government restricted internet access in the nation as it blocked WhatsApp and Instagram. As per AFP, here’s what Iran’s Fars news agency reported:
“In accordance with a decision by officials, it has no longer been possible to access Instagram in Iran since yesterday (Wednesday) evening and access to WhatsApp is also disrupted,” Iran’s news agency.
On Friday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that he will activate Starlink, the satellite internet service of his company, in Iran amid internet blackout there, Reuters reported. This was in response to US State Secretary Antony Blinken’s tweet that the United States took action “to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” for Iranians.
Meanwhile, Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi ordered an investigation into Amini’s death yesterday, Indian Express reported. Raisi, however, also sent out a warning to protestors calling their fight an “act of chaos”. He was speaking at a news conference on the side lines of UN General Assembly in New York.
“There is freedom of expression in Iran…but acts of chaos are unacceptable,” Raisi said.
According to a latest report by AFP, at least 50 civilians have died in the ongoing protests, Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based organisation said. The organisation added that the numbers are more than three times the official death count of 17.
Iran has been practicing the hijab law since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The rule requires women to wear a headscarf and loose-fitted clothes in public.
