Tehran: Several Iranian women on Saturday took off their headscarves as a mark of protest against the mandatory hijab during the funeral of Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by the morality police in Tehran on Tuesday.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini, died on Friday, days after her arrest by Iran’s morality police for wearing the hijab in an ‘improper manner’ as she had not fully covered her hair.
She was then assaulted in the police van while being driven to a detention center for a “re-education lesson”.
The funeral took place in the town of Saqqaz, Mahsa’s hometown, in the western Kurdistan province.
Several videos from the protests circulated on social media showing mourners at the funeral chanting “Death to the dictator.”
Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist shared a video on Twitter and wrote, “Women of Iran-Saghez removed their headscarves in protest against the murder of Mahsa Amini 22 Yr old woman by hijab police and chanting: death to dictator! Removing the hijab is a punishable crime in Iran. We call on women and men around the world to show solidarity.”
In another tweet, Masih Alinejad, wrote, “This is the real Iran, Security forces in Iran’s Saqqez opened fire at peaceful protesters following the burial of #Mahsa_Amini. Several protesters have been injured. First Hijab police killed a 22 Yr old girl and now using guns and tear gas against grieving people.”
Another international journalist Zahack Tanvir posted a video on Saturday which showed police’s behaviour with the protesting women.
Some angry demonstrators headed towards the governor’s office to protest the death, while security forces were seen shooting at demonstrators and arresting some who tried to approach the building.
Protesters even took down a banner of Qasem Soleimani (the dead commander of IRGC Quds force) while protesting. Some protesters confronting the riot police who resorted to using tear gas on the rioter.
Amini’s death sparked a protest against the morality police from celebrities and dignitaries on social media. The Iranian judiciary opened an investigation into her death.
Iranian cops arrests girl for not wearing hijab
A video clip has spread, documenting the moment one of the Iranian moral police patrols arrested a girl, for not wearing the hijab, in a violent manner.
The video showed two members of the Iranian morality police, a man and a woman, carrying the girl and forcing her into the patrol car.
This came at a time when Iran was witnessing massive demonstrations, condemning the killing of Mahsa Amini, at the hands of the morality police.
Women are legally required to wear the hijab in Iran
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, women have been legally required to wear “Islamic” modest clothing.
In practice, this means that women must wear a chador, a full-body abaya, or a headscarf and coat that covers their arms.
In recent years, Iran has witnessed several campaigns against the compulsory hijab, but the Iranian morality police launched a campaign against women accused of not complying with the dress code, prompting opponents of this trend to demand action.
In 2017, dozens of women publicly took off their headscarves in a wave of protests, the authorities adopted tougher measures.
In July video spread on social media of a woman standing in front of a morality police vehicle calling for the release of her daughter, and the veiled woman continued to hold on to the vehicle even after it set off before running away from it after increasing its speed.
