It is a radical form of feminist civil disobedience. There is a notable abundance of women on the streets, as we see images of hijab-free women on the streets every day, eating, protesting, dancing and burning their headscarves. And yet, despite this connection, these latest protests are clearly feminist in nature – with protesters calling for the obligatory hijab to be abolished. What we have seen in recent days on the streets of Iran is a continuation of the spontaneous protests that erupted in 2017, which are increasingly taking place at the same time as protests organised by trade unions, pensioners and teachers. The protests began out of solidarity with Zhina’s family, but soon became a resistance movement against the mandatory wearing of the hijab, against gender apartheid in Iran and ultimately against the Islamic Republic itself. The fury over the government's act of femicide has driven people across the country to the streets. A few hours later, she was admitted to hospital for head injuries, sustained by the hijab police, where she lay in a coma for several days, succumbing to her injuries on 16 September.Īt Zhina’s funeral, attended by a large proportion of the Kurdish population of Saqqez, Zhina’s hometown, many women took off their headscarves as a sign of protest against Iran’s compulsory hijab policy, waving them in the air, shouting Jin, Jiyan, Azadi. The 22-year-old was detained on 13 September on charges of not wearing a hijab (headscarf) in accordance with the Islamic Republic’s regulations. The demonstrations were triggered by the murder of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of Iran’s institutional hijab police. Governments in the EU and the West can look away no longer. These are the biggest protests seen in Iran since the Green Movement in 2009. Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom), the main slogan of the Kurdish feminist movement, is now echoing through the streets of Iranian cities small and large for the first time.
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