It's been 1 year since Mahsa Amini sparked the Iranian feminist revolution.
The fight for liberation continues.
What happened in the last year
Last year, 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini was beaten to death by the Iranian morality police for not complying with restrictive dress codes. Since Amini’s death, over 500 protesters have been killed, around 200,000 have been arrested, and several have been executed. While the morality police did slow enforcement of dress codes in an attempt to slow mass protesting they are now back and imposing strict patriarchal modesty laws. Smart cameras and facial recognition technology are being used to track and arrest women who do not comply with these standards.
Bodily autonomy is a feminist issue
Controlling women’s bodies is a core feature
of patriarchy. In Iran, women and girls have historically been punished for not adhering
to modesty laws or for practicing them “incorrectly.” Punishments in the form of arrest, imprisonment, and assault are common and as evidenced by Amini’s death—they are also life-threatening. The ability to dress, self-express, and live freely is fundamental to the liberation
of women and girls in Iran and globally.
