Who was Mahsa Amini? Know About the Ripple Effect of her Death Leading to a Revolution in Iran.

Mahsa Amini's sad death was caused in the custody of the morality police of Iran about 100 days ago and this has led to a series of protests in the country. The last 100 days in Iran have seen a protest like none other where women are chopping their hair and burning their hijabs in rage on the streets of Iran. Chants like “Woman, Life, Freedom” are chanted in unison following the death of Mahsa Amini. While on one side, the public of Iran is in great unrest, the authorities are declining to concede.

The situation in Iran

After the death of Mahsa Amini, the situation in Iran is devastating. The rage of the common public, especially of women, is crossing all bounds. The authorities have tried their best to shut down the voice of people through social media shutdown. However, it seems that the wind of protest is getting stronger, especially when widespread turmoil is evident in the videos that still run online. The theocratic rule in the country is what the protestors in Iran, especially women, wish to end once and for all.

The history of Iran in decades has not seen any such movement as the present one. 

Have a look at the series of events that led to the revolution.

ALSO READ: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Mercenary Chief, Killed In Plane Crash. Here's Everything You Need To Know!

First things first, who was Mahsa Amini, whose death caused the repel effect?

Mahsa Amini was a young, 22-year-old, Iranian woman who was arrested by the Guidance Patrol of Iran on September 13, 2022. The Guidance Patrol is also known as the morality police. Mahsa Amini's arrest, however, was not based on charges of not wearing the hijab correctly. According to the morality police, Mahsa was wearing something called the "bad hijab", which meant that she was wearing the hijab but in an improper manner.

Later, the 22-year-old woman was admitted to the ICU ward of a hospital because of severe injuries caused to her due to harassment by the Guidance Patrol, or the morality police.

It was a picture of Mahsa Amini that went viral on the internet and depicted her unconscious state on the hospital bed igniting agitation and rage in her locality. When the medical records of the lady were leaked, it was found that her skull was fractured. This piece of news led to further anger across the country.

The protest

On September 16, 2022, the 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini passed away. On September 17, 2022, her funeral was held in Saqqez, her hometown. The shocking and sad death of the young lady created a ripple effect that led to huge protests across the country. At her funeral itself, the mourners gradually started removing their headscarves. The sad incident and the funeral touched the mourners so much that the funeral site was transformed into a protest site in no time. The mourners started chanting "Death to the dictator" in extreme anger.

It was not only her hometown Saqqez but the entire country that witnessed the ripple effect. The rage-fueled the entire country to protest. The revolution spread to the University of Tehran. Here, people began shouting slogans such as "woman, life, freedom."

Iranian cities like Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Rasht witnessed huge protests, and clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

Social media shutdown

The widespread protest in Iran led to the shutting down of domestic and mobile internet. Moreover, in order to curb the growing protests and hatred, the authorities in Iran shut down social media access.

Restricted access was provided to social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp on September 21, 2022. On the very same day, many reports of numerous deaths in the protests came in the limelight. The direction of the protests did not halt with the social media shutdown. People from all fields of life came to the streets and protested for justice. It was at this time when the political leadership in Iran faced a huge backlash and a robust challenge ever since the revolution of 1979.

Actions taken by the leaders of Iran

In the last three decades, Iran has not seen any other protest as big as this one. Leaders therefore were somewhat in a frozen state where it was difficult for them to swallow the hard pill. This situation of confusion and shock led to a delay in taking any proactive actions to resolve the issue. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of spiking "riots" with the intention to destabilize the country. 

The leader showcased his condolences for Mahsa Amini. However, he also reiterated his disapproval of the widespread protest held by the protestors in the country. Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, expressed that the demise of Mahsa Amini had "saddened" the country. However, at the same time, the President also gave a warning that the "chaos"  The protests continued to such an extent that the security forces could not handle them. The protestors chanted "Death to the dictator."

How did the Iran players at the FIFA World Cup 2022 support the protest?

The sports community of Iran was also shaken by the incident and thus chose to speak up as opposed to staying mum. The unjust demise of Amini led the Iran players in the FIFA World Cup 2022 to refuse to sing their national anthem in their first match against England. The move supported the anti-government protests going on in Iran at that point. The match proved to be in favor of England, however, Iran's message became a huge limelight. During this time, scrutiny forces in the country used to fire at anyone and everyone who was seen participating in the protests.

The next thing that happened was the death of Colonel Esmael Charghi announced by Iran on November 17. The death was caused because of the violence caused by the protests. The authorities released a video three days later that showed three "confessions" that took the blame for the Colonel's demise. The names of the accused were not revealed by the authorities.

ALSO READ: FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: Match Results, Goal Scorers, Group Standings and Points Table

ALSO READ: FIFA World Cup 2026: Check Out The Official Logo, Campaign and Theme

The reaction of the world

Amini's death led to a series of protests in Iran, especially the ones that demanded women's rights and the end of the Islamic Republic. The US has incessantly created strong pressure on Tehran. Sanctions have been imposed by the US on the top Iranian officials which included some important military officials. The Iranian government's crackdown on peaceful protests has also been condemned by the votes of the UN Human Rights Council. The key human rights official of the United Nations insisted the government of Iran cease the crackdown against the protesters. However, these efforts were seen to go in vain.

The executions 

It seemed like the Iranian government was unbothered by the strong urges of the world and was determined to work according to its own will. For instance, a young man, Mohsen Shekari, who allegedly attacked a member of the Iranian security forces at the time of the protests was executed.

The death penalty given to the man was the very first to be conducted by the Iranian government for a person involved in the protest.

The second such execution by the Iranian government was carried out on December 12. It was when the authorities publicly hanged a person convicted of causing death to two members belonging to the security forces. Moreover, as per the estimates of activists, almost a dozen people have been brought to death by the Iranian government in closed-door hearings. As per the Human Rights Activists in Iran, approximately 488 people have been killed ever since the protests commenced in the year 2022.

The hijab

There was a time when hijab was banned in Iran. This was when Reza Shah Pahlavi was sitting the reign in the year 1936, and hijab was banned with the intent to "modernize" Iran. This was the time when even the police discouraged hijab on the common people. However, the morality rules in the country changed as per the changing reigning authorities in the country. 

The current scenario is such that the Iranian authorities, despite massive protests, have refused to concede to any of the urges and demands raised by the protesters and the people of Iran.

ALSO READ: Top 10 Largest Cities in the US

ALSO READ: Chabahar Rail Project: Why Iran drops India and what is the strategic partnership between Iran and China?