The death of Mahsa Amini sparks widespread protests in Iran and renewed demands to abolish the mandatory hijab

22-year-old Gina Mahsa Amini died on September 16, 2022 in a Tehran hospital. The young Kurdish woman was visiting the Iranian capital when she was arrested by the morality police on charges of allegedly violating hijab rules. Three days after her arrest, her death was officially announced.

The authorities' violent treatment of women over alleged violations of hijab rules was nothing new for many Iranian women. However, Amini's death sparked an unprecedented wave of anger. Under the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom,” people took to the streets across the country for months. The protests were brutally suppressed.

Iranian human rights activist, poet and writer Pouran Nazemi said in an interview with DW: "In my view, the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement has brought about the greatest social and cultural change in Iran over the past decades."

Nazimi has been arrested several times in recent years due to her peaceful activism in the field of women's rights, and she expects at any moment to be subjected to new prosecution. However, she has no intention of giving in to intimidation.

From the beginning, the movement formulated clear demands: the abolition of the compulsory hijab and an end to the violence practiced by the state against the people. But one of its most important results is that many people realized their ability to influence society.

“The authorities are still dealing with us with physical violence and sporadic arrests,” Nazimi says. “But something fundamental has changed.”

There is an ongoing debate about tightening the hijab law

Despite the war with the United States, the issue of enforcing the wearing of the hijab in public places still occupies the minds of many Iranian politicians. In a virtual session of the Iranian Parliament held on September 6, several deputies called on Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalbaf to refer the controversial hijab law to the president for signature.

The law, which has been controversial for years among various government institutions, stipulates clearly stricter penalties for women who violate the rules of the hijab. One of the representatives explained that not wearing the hijab has become a "deep wound in the body of society."

"My mother also no longer wears the hijab. She still feels a little afraid and always carries a scarf with her in case of any emergency. But I no longer think about it," a 17-year-old student said in an interview with DW.

Like many other young women, she posts photos and videos of herself wearing colorful skirts and summer clothes on social media. For her, this is part of the “new normal.”

This new situation would have been difficult to imagine a few years ago. It was only after the 2022 protests that many women began to openly ignore government laws and make their own decisions about wearing the hijab.

Resistance with a long history

However, the resistance of Iranian women did not begin with the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom,” but rather has a history that extends for decades. Women's rights activist and writer Mansoura Shojaei, 68 years old, said in an interview with DW that an important stage of this development actually began about 20 years ago. Shojaee left Iran in 2011 due to political repression and today lives in the Netherlands.

In September 2006, she and other Iranian activists and women's rights defenders founded the "One Million Signatures Campaign." Its goal was to collect one million signatures to amend discriminatory laws against women. The campaign became an important example of feminist organizing and community mobilization in Iran.

Activists took to the streets and headed to universities, residential neighborhoods, and private homes. They discussed with people about divorce, child custody, women's inheritance, testimony in courts, and polygamy. At the same time, they organized educational workshops, discussion and study groups, as well as cultural and media activities.

Since its inception, the campaign has been subjected to intense government repression. Male and female activists were summoned before the authorities and subjected to arrest and criminal prosecution. Many paid a high personal price for their commitment.

Among those affected was Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. Others, including Mansoura Shojaei, were forced to leave Iran. Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi also had the original goal of collecting one million signatures. However, it brought about a change in the societal debate about the legal and social status of women. Therefore, Mansoura Shajaei believes that the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement does not represent a complete break with the past, but rather that this movement comes within the framework of a long-term evolutionary path. (2003) is among the prominent Iranian women activists who were subjected to government repression.

The campaign fell short of its original goal of collecting one million signatures. However, it brought about a change in the societal debate about the legal and social status of women. Therefore, Mansoura Shajai believes that the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement does not represent a complete break with the past, but rather that this movement comes within the framework of a long-term evolutionary path.

Prepared in Arabic by: M.A.M

Edited by: A.S