On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini passed away due to a heart attack. At least, that’s what the police say. After decades of being ill-treated and walked over, Muslim women are finally fighting against unfair hijab regulations. Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality patrol for incorrectly wearing her hijab in public, but it grew much worse than just being arrested. Amini’s CT scan proves that not only was she arrested by the morality police, she was beaten by them. Her CT scan shows prominent signs of a skull fracture, hemorrhage, and brain edema. Bystanders also report that they witnessed Amini being battered by the morality police, members of Iran’s police forces that specifically enforce dress code laws in public. After being held for three days, Amini died in police captivity. Officials say her death was due to a heart attack, and the Iranian government even tried to forge medical records of Amini having previous heart issues.

Police also claim to have taken her to the hospital, however, when she arrived at the hospital, Amini was stated as brain dead, and she could not be saved. Kasra Hospital, where Mahsa passed away, stated that Amini’s lungs were completely filled with blood- a pulmonary hemorrhage. Soon enough, the public was informed about this, and people were absolutely outraged. Protests rose all over the world, protesting against the Iranian government and the way they handled this tragedy. During protests, women rip off their headscarves, cut their hair, and so on. The Iranian government tried to silence the public by cutting off the internet, but that did not help the case at all. Not only is it making the government look even worse, it’s not stopping the movement at all. In fact, it just might be doing the opposite. Protests are still happening, and people are even donating money to those in Iran to support the cause. These people are not going to rest until a change is made, and this change needs to happen soon. With protests continuing, the death toll is only growing. Security and police have begun to use clubs, tear gas, and live ammunition, not only causing people to get wounded, but also causing many deaths. According to Iran Human Rights, approximately 133 people have been killed so far, at least 40 of those deaths belonging to people who attended clashes taking place in Zahedan last week. Though, these are not the only casualties. As claimed by Iranian authorities, 41 members of the security and police forces have been killed. Iranian authorities claim these people to be “rioters and thugs backed by foreign foes.” Following the death of Mahsa Amini, sixteen-year-old Nika Shakarami disappeared on the 20th of September at a protest about Mahsa Amini. 10 days later, her carcass was found in a morgue at a detention center by her family. Nika’s family tried to transfer her body to a cemetery closer to her father’s home village, however, authorities were alleged to have stolen Nika’s body and buried it in the village of Veysian. Forensic pathologists have identified that Nika was killed by multiple heavy blows to her head; the regime has classified Shakarami’s death as a suicide by throwing herself from atop a building.

Nika’s mother denies this claim and says that Nika was forcefully thrown off of the building. Shakarami’s aunt and uncle were also reported to have been forced to make extremely false claims on television so that the public will believe their lies. Though, the public is not foolish enough to believe this. The public not only completely looked over these lies, they accused the government of lying about Nika’s rape, torture, and death. Due to internet restrictions in Iran, it can be quite difficult to gain information as to what is going on in some areas. Even with this said, this does not mean that the public will stop trying to retaliate against the Iran government. People are still dying to fight for their rights, and it is heartbreaking to wake up every day just to hear about another person that passed away fighting. However, these people will not rest until Iran women are free. These women deserve just as many rights as normal, everyday, women that you see in America.