Protests Rock Iran After Morality Police Kill Woman for Wearing ‘Improper’ Hijab

American dons hijab for interview as Iranians remove hijabs in protest

Karl Salzmann • September 20, 2022 12:50 pm

Protests across Iran entered their fifth day Tuesday after Iran’s morality police arrested and beat a 22-year-old woman for wearing an “improper” hijab. The woman died of her injuries.

Iran’s security forces on Monday opened fire on protesters in the Kurdish region, killing three. Two of the people killed were from Saqez, the hometown of Mahsa Amini, the woman who died in custody.

Iran’s morality police last week arrested Amini for wearing “unsuitable attire,” which the U.S. State Department has identified as an “improper” hijab. Amini sustained “injuries” while in custody that caused her death, the State Department found.

Pictures of Amini taken in the hospital show that she suffered bruises on her face and legs, likely indicating that she was beaten, the Guardian reported. Amini’s father said the police caused her death.

The protests are “some of Iran’s worst unrest” since demonstrations last year shook the hardline Islamist regime, Reuters found.

Videos posted by Iranian Twitter accounts show Tehran police cars with smashed windows as security forces shoot water cannons toward protesters.

“People throwing rocks have advanced against the police,” a woman says in the video. “Death to the dictator!”

A representative for that dictator, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, on Monday showed up at the home of Amini’s family. The state-controlled Tasnim News Agency said Khamenei’s representative paid condolences to the family and promised that “all institutions will take action to defend the rights that were violated.”

Days after Amini’s death, American 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl interviewed Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi. Stahl wore a hijab during the interview as female protesters removed and burned their hijabs to show support.