By Shafiqa Rehayee | Staff Writer
In September, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was killed in the custody of the Islamic regime’s “morality police” after she was arrested for not covering her body properly. The morality police claim Amini violated Iran’s obligatory dress code that obligates women to hide their necks and hair with scarves regardless of their religious affiliation. The irony is that the police tried to cover up the crime by claiming that Amini died of a heart attack while in their custody, but pictures show her body with severe injuries laying on the hospital bed with tubes and wires all over her body. The images reveal that 22-year-old Amini was beaten to death by the Islamic authorities.
Following the regime’s brutal treatment of Mahsa Amini, the entire Iranian population underwent a bloody revolution, with women leading the charge against the government. Women took off their hijabs, chanting “death to the dictator” and “women, freedom, life.” The Iranian women show their resistance by ripping their hijabs off, burning the headscarves, and dancing as the headscarves turn into ashes on the streets. The ongoing revolution against the regime differs from the previous uprisings because every member of the community is getting engaged in the revolution regardless of gender, age, or religion. Also, the uprising brought the international community’s attention to the unjustified crimes committed by the Islamic regime. Women from all around the world showed their support for the struggle of Iranian women through protests, petitions, and awareness posts on social media.
Despite the regime’s use of extreme violations against the revolutionaries, the uprising is intensifying more than ever, and the whole population is uniting to overthrow the government.
Throughout history, Iranian women have stood against the oppression of the Islamic authoritarian rule, but unfortunately, the regime suppressed them every time they tried to raise their voices against the state’s unjustified crimes. The women-led revolution in 2022 has remained powerful despite the challenges and the government’s attempts to break off the uprising.
This time, we should stand in solidarity with the nationwide strike in Iran! As an international community, we need to prevent further crimes and condemn human rights violations committed by the patriarchal and brutal system of the authoritarian regime.
Now more than ever, double down on solidarity and lend your voice to Iranian women who have been deprived of life and freedom for over 42 years!