The death of Mahsa Amini triggered protests across Iran. These protests highlight the anger that Iranians hold toward their government and its regime.
The past three weeks have shaken Iran to its core. The country has seen continuous anti-government demonstrations in over 80 cities and towns, and the ruthless behavior of the security forces in arresting, mistreating, imprisoning, and killing demonstrators. These events opened a new chapter in the relationship between the state and its citizens in the Islamic Republic. This time, it is women who are leading the demonstrations.
The death of Mahsa Amini hours after she was violently arrested by the morality police simply for showing a bit of hair, violating the Islamic dress code, triggered the demonstrations first in her native province of Kurdestan, then across the country. Mahsa Amini was a prototype of the younger generation of Iranians—women and men who came of age under the Islamic Republic. These are the children of the revolution, but despite attempted indoctrination in schools, universities, places of work, and the social sphere, they have turned their back to the system as they seek a different path for themselves. They ignore government regulations, fight against the morality police who interfere with the way they dress and behave in public, and through their attitude and behavior, they show that they despise the rules and norms that are being forced on them.
Read the article by Dr Haleh Esfandiari from the Australian Institute of International Affairs.