Iranian women burn hijabs and chop hair in protest against a woman’s death

 To protest against the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old, who died after being detained by the morality police, many Iranian women took off their Hijabs (headscarves). 

The woman reportedly died after being detained by the morality police, who were enforcing strict Hijab laws on her on Saturday, September 17. Subsequently, women started demanding justice for her. The women chanted "death to the tyrant!" as security personnel deployed tear gas to disperse the protesters. The women also shouted anti-regime slogans.

According to media reports, various women also chopped their hair and set fire to their Hijabs in a symbolic gesture of protest against the Iranian government’s law of compulsory religious Hijabs for women over the age of seven.

Iranian journalists and human rights activists tweeted a video of some women who were chopping their braids and burning their headscarves.

Several Iranians took to the streets to protest the death of the woman. According to human rights activists in Iran, the morality police in Iran jailed Mahsa Amini for allegedly disobeying Iran’s hijab laws. The activists claimed that they detained her for wearing a bad Hijab. However, Police said that the woman was ill when taken into custody along with others.

Activists reportedly urged Iranian women to remove their veils in public. They demanded strict action against those who killed the woman.

The videos of the woman were also leaked on social media. In the video, various men were taking her into a cab for allegedly breaking the country’s laws. According to various sources, the woman was rushed to hospital in a coma a few hours after her arrest. Subsequently, the doctor said that they could not save her. 

Prominent lawyer of Iran, Saeed Dehghan, also described Amini's death as a "murder". Amnesty International also demanded justice for Amini.