Iranian men and women furious at the death of a young woman who died in police custody after refusing to wear the hijab mandated by the despotic Iranian regime took the bold step of publicly burning a hijab in the street.
This video brought tears to my eyes.
Women & men burning compulsory hijab in the streets of Tehran where #MahsaAmini was beaten up to death by hijab police.
The woman who took the video says; our dream comes true Finally we are burning the symbol of our oppression in the street. pic.twitter.com/P9WYBixKw4— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 19, 2022
Last Tuesday, Mahsa Amini, 22, was visiting Iran’s capital, Tehran. She was forced into a van run by the Gasht e Ershad, which enforces the Iranian regime’s dress code. Then she was taken to the “Vozara detention center.” She died in mysterious circumstances, prompting opponents of the regime, who aver that police often treat violators of the dress code brutally, to contend that the young girl was murdered, as TIME reported.
The hospital where Amini was taken briefly announced that she was declared brain-dead when she arrived at the hospital while the Iranian government has insisted that she suffered from a pre-existing condition. But Amini’s family has countered the government, asserting that she did not suffer from a pre-existing condition.
Radio Farda reported that Sunday night in Amini’s hometown, Sanandaj, residents chanted “Death to the dictator,” “Shame on us, our shame/ our Al-Dang leader,” “Death to Khamenei” and “From Kurdistan to Tehran/Oppression against women.”
Meanwhile, leading Iranian dissident activist Masih Alinejad had her Twitter account locked as she reported on the unrest in Iran
History will record that on this day Twitter suspended the account of Masih Alinejad—Iranian-born journalist who is the most important women's rights activist of our time—while they allowed the misogynist murderer Ayatollah who tried to assassinate her to keep tweeting. https://t.co/BaYnyMvcnf pic.twitter.com/WnFIJoVeal
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) September 18, 2022
I’m back on Twitter because I was forced to take down two photos . Both were killed by Islamic Rpublic security forces.
You are censoring me and others who expose brutality by dictators while letting those who commit these crimes to post undisturbed. Remove @khamenei_ir not me.— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 18, 2022
So @TwitterSupport tries to ban activists like @AlinejadMasih who post the photos of protesters murdered in #Iran but allows the man who ordered their murders (@khamenei_ir) to stay?
If so, let’s all post their photos. See if @Twitter can ban all of us.#MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی https://t.co/kSAIg5CKNA pic.twitter.com/hcQWuzlaPA
— Cameron Khansarinia (@khansarinia) September 18, 2022
The IRI cyber army seems to have mass reported Masih's acct & @TwitterSafety seems to have stupidly shut her down because of a post showing a very accurate picture of the Iranian regime's crimes.
Twitter, please fix this. @elonmusk @paraga https://t.co/gL0uVGHnVw pic.twitter.com/XU1Eg3GFwg— Kaveh Shahrooz کاوه شهروز (@kshahrooz) September 18, 2022
Alinejad also slammed CBS News’ Lesley Stahl for wearing a hijab when interviewing Iran’s hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, tweeting, “A 22 Yr old #MahsaAmini got killed after being beaten by hijab police in Iran. Right after the tragedy٫ @LesleyRStahl wear hijab to interview Ebrahim Raisi who is responsible for the murdering. By obeying forced hijab, you legitimize our oppressors to kill more of us.”
A 22 Yr old #MahsaAmini got killed after being beaten by hijab police in Iran. Right after the tragedy٫ @LesleyRStahl wear hijab to interview Ebrahim Raisi who is responsible for the murdering. By obeying forced hijab, you legitimize our oppressors to kill more of us. #LetUsTalk https://t.co/vx8KmR4TU0 pic.twitter.com/yEhyCGT049
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 18, 2022
In reference to what happened to Amini, Alinejad told CNN: “Let me tell you something, Mahsa’s family members, they risked their lives and they tell journalists outside of Iran that Mahsa was beaten by the morality police. It is clear for all Iranians that she was murdered.”
Responding to CNN’s Jake Tapper asking her if she had any faith that anyone would be held for Amini’s death since the interior ministry and Tehran’s prosecutors said they were launching an investigation, she scoffed, “This is ridiculous. They actually are asking another killer to do an investigation about another organization who killed Mahsa.”
“From the age of 7, if I don’t cover my hair, I won’t be able to get an education,” Alinejad recalled. “I receive lashes if I show my hair. This is their reality of Iran. Not the one that you see from some of the apologies or those that going to my beautiful country and say look, let’s talk about as a tourist, let’s talk about how beautiful the city — no, women are being treated like second class citizens.”
“What breaks my heart that I see a lot of, western politicians from European country, they go to my beautiful country and they obey compulsory hijab laws so they legitimatize my oppressors, our government, to put more pressure on us,” she said, then took American feminists to task: “I want them now — all of my sisters in America who say my body my choice, we say the same, my body my choice. But we go to jail. We get lashes. So support us and show your solidarity.”