Following the death of Mahas Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, protests have rocked Iran. Amini was beaten and allegedly died of a heart attack after being caught violating the strict laws Iran has about hijabs and headscarves. 

Iranian law requires that everybody follow religious practices which translates into all women being required to cover their heads in public at all times. The country is defined as an Islamic republic meaning that all laws and regulations are based on Islamic criteria. Iran is one of only two countries that by law requires women to cover their heads. 

“They have this extreme orthodox version of Islam and a Buearacracy,” said human geography teacher Eve Winiarski.

As a result of Mahas’s death many Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the violence. Women represent the majority of protestors and have been seen protesting by burning head scarves or boycotting other religious practices. 

Notably the protests have specifically involved the younger generation who didn’t have a say in the theocratic government that is put in place in Iran. Schoolgirls have been seen burning scarves and marching rather than attending school.

 “A lot of people protesting didn’t choose this government and now they’re ready for a change” said Winiarski, “they feel that if they don’t make a change this is going to be the rest of their life.”

The government has responded to these protests with violence and force resulting in the death of 234 people, 29 of which were children. But despite threats of arrest and other disciplinary action students and other protesters have continued to protest and riot. The country plans on holding public trials for the more than 1000 people who have been involved in these protests to begin disciplinary action. 

The United States has shown solidarity for the protestors with former President Barack Obama and others publicly displaying support for the protestors. With previous protests like the Green Revolution the United States government has taken a stance of neutrality but now they have shown support for this wave of protests.

“Being supportive is always going to be a good thing because if we’re supposed to be a democratic nation then we should encourage democracies in other countries” said Winiarski.

Overall this wave of protests has been coming for a long time with the oppressive government and violence constantly  threatening citizens. The death of Mahas Amini has just opened the gate for citizens to take action against the theocratic government that they no longer believe in.