The case of Mahsa Amini went around the world. It was no wonder. He stood up to the Iranian regime of the ayatollahs, led by its supreme leader, Ali Jamenei. The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl died in police custody in Tehranthe capital. Her alleged crime: not wearing the veil correctly.
His death sparked massive protests in Iran under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”which were repressed with violence, executions and thousands of arrests. It thus became a symbol of the fight for human rights in the Middle East region. And now, Iranian women are once again stirring up the country.
Women are taking to the streets to burn Khamenei’s image with cigarettes. “Burn, devil”the women pronounced while they burned the photos of the supreme leader of the Iranians.
repressive apparatus
The women who participate in these acts combine the burning of the leader’s image with the act of smokinga practice that for decades has been restricted for women in Iranian society, a deeply sexist environment where they have many restricted freedoms.
The videos of the burnings have had a huge impact on social networks, which makes it more difficult for the Iranian repressive apparatus to erase this digital footprint. Women, now, have gone one step further after the case of Mahsa Amini.
After the death of this young woman four years ago, the Government failed to quell the women’s struggle for fundamental rights. The 2022 protests resulted in more than 500 deaths and at least 2,400 arrests.
The protests were repressed with extreme violence, but the resistance progressively transformed into symbolic actions. Women have challenged the ayatollah regime. From going to universities and public spaces without a veil, to throwing the turbans of clerics in alleys and bazaarswithout forgetting their participation in inconspicuous sports competitions or even undressing in public.
Poisoning
Another aspect that draws attention in the midst of these female revolts is the participation of women of all ages. The mobilizations They reached the schools, where the students chanted slogans against the regime. It was an unprecedented scene in the more than 40 years of government since the Islamic Revolution.
But he Executive acted. Months later, cases of chain poisonings in schools began to be recorded throughout the country. The students, according to Euronewsthey suddenly lost consciousness and were rushed to hospitals with respiratory symptoms, palpitations and numbness.
Subsequent investigations indicated that more than 800 students from at least 15 Iranian cities were affected. He Ministry of Health confirmed that the cases were due to a “very mild toxin”.
The then Vice Minister of Health, Yunus Panahiwent so far as to declare that “someone wanted schools to be closed, especially girls’ schools,” although he withdrew his words the next day. The Iranian government denied any responsibility and, to date, the perpetrators of the poisonings have never been identified.