September 16, 2023

“jin, Jian, Azadi” is a Kurdish phrase that translates to “Women, Life, Freedom” and has quickly become the rally cry for Gen-Z Iranian woman aginst the Iranian regime and it’s imposition of the hijab on it’s female citizens. Met with harsh punishment, women are forced to wear the hijab by the Iranian morality police. The first president of the Islamic Republic, Abolhassan Bani Sadr, believed a women’s exposed hair would drive men mad whereas Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks of it as a religious and social obligation. In the enforcement of these ideals the regime has harassed, arrested, tortured and killed women of all ages. Government office require hijabs. Restaurants, stores and shops who serve women without hijabs are fined. Women who drive without a hijab get their cars impounded and face heavy fines. Parliament enacted penalties for women who do not wear hijabs. All of this leading up to the death of 22-year-old Mahs Amini. On september 16, 2022 Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran by the Morality Police for not wearing a hijab and was pulled into a van and beaten. Two hours after the arrest she was taken to the hospital where she spent three days in a coma before she died. The death of Mahsa Amini sparked outrage across Iran and across the world, paving the path for the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement to begin. Violent protests erupted in Iran, resulting in hundreds of arrests and a large number of deaths. Activists took to the steets and college campuses in deficance of the hijabi law and morality police with over 500 people being killed and over 20,000 detained. Protests have subsided since with the occasional activation but women can be seen walking in Iran defying the hijab law. The morality police were taken off the streets for about a week following Amini’s death but made a quick return with no change. Cameras were installed in the streets to identify women who defied the law and parliament worked to enact stricter punishment.

________________________

These pictures were taken in front of the Texas Capitol Building. One year after the death of Mahsa Amini, activists across the world called for support of Iranian woman and an end to the tyranny that takes place to this day in Iran. During this protest, a member of the Austin City Council spoke with announcement that September 16th would officially become Mahsa Amini Day in Asutin.