On September 13, 2022, Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman, was arrested by police for not wearing a hijab properly. Amini died on September 16, three days after her detention. The bereaved families claimed that Amini was beaten to death by police based on the scars left on Amini’s body. However, Iranian police denied it and announced that Amini died of a heart attack.
Despite the official police announcement, Iranian citizens began a massive protest to denounce the cause of Amini’s death, believing that the cause was a violent assault by the police. The protesters also argued against wearing hijabs, arguing that wearing them should never take precedence over human life. In particular, men who do not wear hijabs also participated in the protests raising their voices. Protests have erupted across Iran, regardless of age or gender. However, Iranian police called the protests ‘riots’ and carried out violent crackdowns. Many people were arrested and killed in the process. The Iranian government has blocked Internet connections in some areas to prevent the spread of the protests and even mobilized fire trucks to contain the demonstrators. Women who posted photos of not wearing a hijab on social media were immediately arrested due to tighter surveillance. A high school student arrested on suspicion of participating in a protest took her own life due to the aftereffects of torture. Iran is in such a difficult situation, and protests are still ongoing.
Then why do people wear hijabs in Iran? Iran has strict regulations on hijabs for religious reasons. A hijab is a Muslim garment worn by women. Not all Muslim women are required to wear the hijab, which varies by country, origin, and region. Some oppose wearing hijabs, saying that the obligation to wear hijabs violates women’s human rights and freedom. Opponents argue that the hijab’s excessive face coverage violates women’s clothing freedom. Despite these objections in many countries, women’s wearing hijabs is still a compulsory duty.
No obligation should be more valuable than a person’s life. Life is something that deserves to be respected. The Iranian police’s excessive handling led to regrettable results.
