DNA Special: How Mahsa Amini’s death urged women in Iran to protest against Sharia law
Mahsa Amini was a young woman who died while she was under the custody of the morality police in Iran for violating the hijab rules in the country.
With over a dozen people dead in the protests and repeated police crackdowns against social activists over the past few days, the women's revolution against the hijab in Iran has shocked the whole world. In a country where there is a provision of strict punishment for not wearing a hijab, women of Iran have broken all traditions and made a hue and cry against the government.
The death of a woman in police custody over the slightest mistake in wearing a hijab has filled the entire country with anger. According to media reports, a young woman in Iran was detained by police just for “showing two strands of hair” from her hijab, which is against the rules.
Hatred against the hijab has increased so much that women have expressed their displeasure by publicly cutting their hair and burning the hijab. Men have also come out in support of women against the hijab and Sharia law and the Iranian morality police.
Protests have been going on in Iran for the last 7 days. The anti-hijab movement continues in more than 80 cities of the country. The Iranian government is also taking strict action to suppress these demonstrations. More than 17 protesters have died so far.
Police in Iran is making door-to-door arrests to nab those involved in the anti-hijab protest. To suppress this protest, the Iranian government has also banned its social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and YouTube. The anti-hijab protests in Iran are said to be the biggest protests since 2019, which occurred due to fuel prices.
Iran is an Islamic country that operates under Sharia Law. In Iran, it is mandatory for all girls and women above 7 years to wear the hijab, under the designated dress code in the country. If this is not done, there is also a provision for flogging under Sharia law. The government wants to impose the hijab law on women at all costs. That is why even after the protests against it, the government does not want to back down.
Activists believe that the Iranian government is trying to suppress the voice of women on the basis of sticks and guns. The biggest example of what the Iranian government thinks about the hijab was revealed by the thinking of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
After the death of the young girl named Mahsa Amini, who had been detained under the hijab rules in Iran, the American news channel CNN invited Ibrahim Raisi for an interview. But Ebrahim Raisi had put a condition that showed Iran's strict rules and thought process regarding the hijab.
Iranian President Raisi had asked Christine, the female journalist who conducted the interview, to take the interview wearing a hijab. Christine, a female journalist, ignored this demand and canceled this interview. Christine then reminded Raisi that no Iranian president had ever made such a demand.
Iran's government is adamant about imposing its Sharia laws on women. But Iranian women, even by bearing the government's atrocities in anti-hijab protests, are raising their voices for their rights. The disturbing visuals emerging from Iran during the anti-hijab protests show security forces cracking down on the female protestors with no holds barred.
As the protests rage on, Amini’s family is demanding strict action against the morality police in the country, and a detailed probe of the death of their daughter.
READ | Remain vigilant: Government advises Indians in Canada amid rising hate crimes in the country