A woman in Tehran, Iran sets fire to her hijab during protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, September 20, 2022
Originally written for The Quint:
“My heart would start beating fast and I would start sweating whenever I spotted chador-clad women on the subway. I knew they were the morality police, just by looking at their shoes,” says Nergis, a 21-year-old Tehran resident.”
“Everyone’s out there to stifle our voices. We’ve been in an open prison since childhood. Why should we live like criminals?” she asks.
For days, Nergis has joined the hundreds of women and men at Keshavarz Boulevard in Iran’s capital, protesting against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
See also Iran’s Mahsa Amini Protests Resonate Across Iraq
UPDATES: Mahsa Amini, Detained by Iran’s “Morality Police”, Is Dead
Popular among university students, Keshavarz Boulevard has been the go-to spot for some of the largest anti-regime protests over the years. On the evening of 20 September, to show solidarity with women across the country and to seek justice for Mahsa, students burned their headscarves.
Iranian police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and batons to punish the protesters. Nergis was one of the victims.
But despite the crackdown, the demonstrations continued for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday.
“They Beat Us With Batons”
Nergis arrived at the protest site at around 6 pm on September 20, joining the crowd’s chants of “Death to [Supreme Leader] Khamenei. Soon the riot police surrounded the protesters:
An hour after the protest started, the police shot at us. They used tear gas and chased us on motorcycles. They shot me with rubber bullets and beat me with batons. Even after this violence, the chants of “Death to Khamenei” only got louder and louder.
In Iran, where a social media post can land you in prison or worse, protests and chants of death for the Supreme Leader are risky defiance. But for years, Iranian women have had to marry against their will, keep quiet about domestic violence, and adhere to the regime’s dress code.
Nergis says:
Mahsa’s death has fuelled our fight for freedom. I always protested on social media, but now we’ve reached a point of no return. We have no fear.
My body is in pain after the police beat me with batons yesterday. I hardly slept and had to cover my bruises from my family. Yet, I am on my way to Keshavarz Boulevard to call for an end to Khamenei’s dictatorship.
This time, we won’t back down. They can’t kill all of us.
Nargis said the riot police patrolled the streets of Tehran until the early hours of September 21, following protesters home. When demonstrators regrouped that evening, they held up black scarves and chanted, “Hijab is a symbol of oppression.”
The riot police again shot at and beat some of the protesters on their heads, from Keshavarz Boulevard to other Tehran landmarks such Vali Asr Square, Enghelab Square, and Vasal Street.
“Today [September 21], the number of protesters was five times more, and so was the oppressive regime’s police. More brutal than yesterday,” Nergis said.
“I Can’t Be A Mute Spectator Anymore”
Mahsa, an ethnic Kurdish woman, died after slipping into a coma on September 16. Three days earlier, she and several women were detained by Iran’s morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad.
On September 19, the killing of three protesters by Iranian security forces was confirmed dead. Iranian officials denied shooting at protesters, but Mehjabin, a medical professional, said:
They did open fire. They opened fire on protesters in Mahsa’s hometown Saghez, too. With the way they beat up protesters with batons last night in Tehran and in Mashhad, the number of dead protesters will only rise in the coming days.
Mehjabin is a 46-year-old midwife and mother of two sons. A native of Isfahan, she has followed the regime’s strict hijab rules ever since she was a little girl.
Moving to Tehran after her wedding in 2007, she noticed that although the women in the capital enjoyed certain liberties, hardliners maintained control.
Young girls in Iran wore loose headscarves and knee-length robes with trousers. I often thought they had so much freedom. But in the past decade, the rules got stricter. They were not only forced by families to obey them but also feared the rude morality policewomen. They would humiliate and beat up girls for wearing bright colours on the train.
I can’t be a mute spectator anymore. The deaths of men and women in the 2019 uprising broke my faith in the regime. Mahsa’s death is just the final nail in the coffin.
Since Mahsa’s death, protests have spread from the capital across Iran, including two of the holiest cities of the country – Mashhad and Qom. The former is home to the Imam Reza holy shrine and the world’s largest mosque. It is also the birthplace of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Qom, known as Iran’s Vatican, is the center for the training of clerics.
Women and men have confronted the police in these cities and others, protesting and burning headscarves. In Sari, a large group took over the town hall and tore down pictures of Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
Challenging “Talibanization of Iranian Society”
Women in Iran have been forced to follow a mandatory hijab code since the Iranian revolution of 1979. For more four decades, Iranian women have had to either follow the rules or be imprisoned.
But the Raisi Government has toughened the restrictions. On July 5, President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the enforcement of the “hijab and chastity” law, which requires women to not only cover their heads but also their shoulders and necks.
See also 1,000+ Iranians Sign Protest Letter About “4 Decades of Oppression of Women”
Nergis summarizes:
I call it the Talibanization of the Iranian society. Iranian girls are educated and we won’t back down. We always dressed modestly, but this new order has just unleashed a new hell on our women.
We will burn this regime down, along with our hijabs.
Twelfth Night Of Protests In Iran As Professors Join Outcry Over Death Of Woman Arrested For Hijab Violation
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-amini-protests-professors-crackdown/32054577.html
“(the unrest is basically over) ”
Keep burring your head in the sand(or somewhere smelly), past Monday and Tuesday nights have been the most attended nights to date. Just because internet is blocked doesn’t mean protests not happening…..
It is over in Tehran: https://twitter.com/fresh_sadegh/status/1575407554225934336
“An eyewitness report: last night, calm in at least eastern half of Tehran where she visited, only on road connecting Tajrish to Parkway (Vali Asr north) some riding their SUVs and blowing their horns as an act of protest.”
YES, finally!!!
An honest congress of regime idiots to follow. Where have they been all this time
Iran’s morality police disappear from streets after dozens killed in protests: https://www.ft.com/content/26fc5c57-dc8f-4af5-b465-f14ae46ea65b
“Such is the outrage over her death that people from across the Iranian political spectrum have called for an end to the official policing of women’s clothing. “Guidance Patrol will most probably be withdrawn from the streets,” said Saeed Laylaz, a reformist analyst. “The Islamic republic will have a major setback over the hijab in practice and will have no other choice but to give more social freedom to the urban middle-class youth.”
The “Morals police” has been taken off the streets before, such as in the run-up to the 2009 presidential election when there was mixed partying in the streets.
‘Too early to tell’ if Iran protests will sink regime”: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/09/27/too-early-to-tell-if-iran-protests-will-sink-regime-00059045
“Some around the U.S. government are keeping their fingers crossed that this is it for Tehran’s leaders.”
Unbelievable if US officials think a few thousand protesters (the unrest is basically over) can overthrow a political system that has survived war, sanctions and repeated bouts of sedition. Every time there is serious unrest in Iran, those seeking regime change claim, “it is different this time…a revolution is at hand”.
6. The right to marry whom they please or not marry anyone (and receieve a dowry).
At age 13 or less what do “WOMEN” know about marriage, or the 65yr old man they marry????
7. Ther right to divorce in certain circumstances.
LOL, “certain circumstances” says it all
8. The right to participate in sport.
How is that they can enter the stadium to watch the games then???
9. The right to healthcare.
Their right to pregnancy or not is ruled by mullahs, how is that “right to health care”???
10. The right to sue.
Unless the culprit is one of the iri thugs. She was raped, there is an official case opened, and yet iri goons make it all the way over to south east of country to threaten the family to withdraw their complain, or else….
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/32054153.html
“Challenging “Talibanization of Iranian Society” Women in Iran have been forced to follow a mandatory hijab code since the Iranian revolution of 1979. ”
The law of mandatory hijab was passed by the Majlis in 1983. Although it is true that only Iran and Afghanistan are the counties that have laws in place regarding hijab, the dress code is much more lenient in Tehran than it is in Kabul. Also, women like the late Mahsa Amini, enjoy the following rights:
1. The right to education (including university)
2. The right to work.
3. The right to vote and stand for office.
4. The right to drive a car.
5. The right to own and run businesses.
6. The right to marry whom they please or not marry anyone (and receieve a dowry).
7. Ther right to divorce in certain circumstances.
8. The right to participate in sport.
9. The right to healthcare.
10. The right to sue.
It is a shame that women still do not have the right to security, including from detention and beating by “morality police”.
Women can be arrested by the police in any country for whatever reason. I personally am against the arrest of women for “bad hejab”. It was not necessary for the police to arrest and detain Amini and separate her from her family. That’s police stupidity, not brutality.
Arresting Amini (and many others) is a “stupidity” sanctioned by the regime.
Beating her is “brutality”.
[Editor: This is from the regime’s English-language outlet.]
More counter-demonstrations held across Iran: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/09/27/689931/Iranians-resume-anti-riot-rallies-across-country
There are no more reports of any significant anti-government protests being held today.
Manchester Islamic centre attacked: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/uks-greater-manchester-police-increase-patro-1568620.html
“On Sunday night, the police received a report of a disturbance involving a large group of people at one of Manchester’s Islamic centers. As a result of the unrest, one man sustained a small cut to his face, and the walls of the center and a car parked at the entrance were vandalized with graffiti referring to recent events in Iran. One person was arrested, according to the police.”
This is the mosque I attend. I have not been there yet to assess the damage but have heard that several worshippers were assaulted.
Just as this murderous regime needs any more bad news….
A couple months ago a 15yr old girl was raped by the chief of security in Baluchistan, at the time they tried to cover it up but it has surfaced again beyond any denial, the authorities including the friday prayer mullah scramble to respond….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDF6vr39FLo&list=WL&index=69
Confirmation that 11 members of the security forces have been killed: https://twitter.com/s_m_marandi/status/1574331112930873344
You omit that Marandi — with his claim that 11 security personnel have been killed — also lies that there is no evidence of the beating of Mahsa Amini and falsely says the US and Saudi Arabia are behind the protests.
[Editor’s Note: This is another article in the English-language State outlet Press TV, putting out the regime’s line.]
Excellent article by Xavier Villar: Mahsa Amini’s death and Western obduracy in accepting the truth: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/09/23/689730/Mahsa-Amini-death-Western-obduracy-accepting-truth
“Authorities released CCTV footage of Amini inside a police station, which clearly shows the young lady fainting on the floor and being subsequently transferred to a hospital. On the other side, unverified and unidentified “eyewitnesses” claimed Amini was “beaten” by officers inside a police van, which they said caused her cardiac arrest.The Director General of Forensic Medicine in Tehran, however, maintained that there were “no signs of skull fracture, bleeding, or rupture of Amini’s internal organs”.
Iranian protesters clash with police….in London and Paris:
The French police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd: https://twitter.com/fresh_sadegh/status/1574121503041683456
In London, protesters tried to break through police lines to attack the embassy: https://twitter.com/fresh_sadegh/status/1574144186957598720
Then the monarchists started fighting with the Marxists: https://twitter.com/PezhmanDoosti/status/1574082763120050179
“He, like myself, believed that the Amini incident may have been because of a bad cop.”
One of these days you should get your story straight, was it a bad cop that beat her up, was it a heart attack, was it a childhood brain tumor, was it epilepsy , was it her hitting her head to the chair, was it the food poising, was it low pressure, was it low blood sugar, or was she diabetic? I suppose all those condition could apply in this case too:
https://twitter.com/GEsfandiari/status/1573745226228932609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1573745226228932609%7Ctwgr%5E1b8e131c8e7d9edd07bb3ca88d3c38249d7b277e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feaworldview.com%2F2022%2F09%2Fmahsa-amini-detained-by-irans-morality-police-is-dead%2F
That was my initial reaction. But then I actually saw the ** EVIDENCE ** of the CCTV footage. I have no idea if Amini had epilepsy or a tumor. But from what I witnessed, she seemed fine until she had what appears to be a stroke. I await the autopsy report which comes out in 3 weeks time.
Protesters injure British police outside the Iranian embassy in London over the situation in Iran: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/25/protesters-clash-with-police-outside-iranian-embassy-in-london
Interesting interview with Mohammad Marandi by RT: https://twitter.com/s_m_marandi/status/1574030572753756160
He, like myself, believed that the Amini incident may have been because of a bad cop.
Yes, this is Marandi in his role as spokesman for the Iranian regime….
How are his personal views different from the of the authrorities?
Personally, I do blame the police for making an unnecessary arrest that triggered this. But I stand with them over unfounded allegations of brutality and I completely condemn the rioting and violence in the streets I think the authorities failed to punish those behind previous unrest.
Marandi is a de facto spokesman for the authorities/regime, particularly on English-language outlets.
Iranian general killed in street battle with protesters : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/23/police-officer-set-fire-iran-protests-escalate/
“An Iranian army general and a member of the morality police have been killed in street battles with protesters”
This has not been reported elsehwere.
There are reports that khamenei has been moved to an unknown location from his residence on Pasteur st…..
I remember in 2009 there were similar reports about how Khamenei was preparing to flee Iran for Syria….taking his billions with him.
Reports are coming in that two cities in kurdistan are in control of protestors. This is Oshnavieh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcCrrjGW_sc
My bad, oshnavieh is in western azarbaygan province, north of kurdistan….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5JOmpaf5bM
It appears the news of people chasing out the security forces was true. But I hear army helicopters raided the town and are in control of town….
It was expected, but it was a good practice run….