What's happened
As the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death approaches, Iranian women increasingly defy mandatory hijab laws. President Masoud Pezeshkian promises to halt harassment by morality police, yet the Supreme Leader's stance remains a barrier. Social media shows women walking without headscarves, reflecting a growing resistance against oppressive measures.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to The Independent, President Masoud Pezeshkian stated, "The morality police were not supposed to confront [women]," indicating a potential shift in policy. However, the Supreme Leader's past remarks, as reported by SBS, emphasize that "unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden," highlighting the ongoing conflict between reformist intentions and entrenched conservative views. The South China Morning Post notes that despite increased visibility of women without hijabs, there is no official acknowledgment of this trend, suggesting a complex social dynamic at play.
How we got here
The protests began after Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in September 2022, igniting widespread demonstrations against Iran's strict hijab laws. Despite a severe crackdown, many women continue to challenge these regulations, particularly as the new reformist president takes office.
More on these topics
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Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan a
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Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei is a Twelver Shia Marja' and the second and current supreme leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the president of Iran from 1981 to 1989.
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
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On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini (Persian: مهسا امینی), also known as Jina Amini or Zhina Amini (Persian: ژینا امینی; Kurdish: ژینا ئەمینی), died in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstance
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Masoud Pezeshkian is an Iranian heart surgeon and reformist politician of Azerbaijani and Kurdish descent who is currently President-elect of Iran.
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Sayyid Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi, is an Iranian politician, Muslim cleric and the current Chief Justice of Iran, having been appointed on 7 March 2019.