One of the most powerful women in 2022 died unaware of her impact on the world.
On September 13, 22-year-old Jina “Mahsa” Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality police for “improperly” wearing her hijab, and according to her family and local media, severely beaten. She died three days later while still in police custody.
After reports of the horrific incident emerged (thanks in part to reporters Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, whom the Iranian regime has since jailed), protests erupted across Iran. They were led by women who tore off their hijabs, cut their hair and adopted a rallying cry of “women, life, freedom.”
The power of Amini’s death, however—and the reason for her inclusion on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women—is that what started as an outcry against the regime’s treatment of women has evolved into a revolutionary movement calling for regime change, recognized throughout the world. Amini’s name has not only become synonymous with the theocratic government’s repression of its citizens, it’s also transformed into a hashtag that, as of November 30, had been used 79 million times.
“Mahsa Amini is now a global symbol for freedom, not just in Iran,” says Nina Ansary, a historian and women’s rights activist.
Ansary and other members of the Iranian diaspora say it’s important to remember that this 80-day-long protest defies an entrenched regime that, by law, treats women as second-class citizens. On March 8, 1979, less than a month after the Islamic Revolution consolidated its control, thousands of women poured into the streets of Tehran to protest the new government’s proposed policies, which went beyond the compulsory hijab or clothing that covers a woman’s entire body.
“The laws introduced after the revolution basically established institutionalized discrimination,” says Roya Boroumand, the cofounder and executive director of Iranian rights organization Abdorrahman Boroumand Center. “Here, their life is valued at half of that of a man, their testimony is valued half of that of a man, and they have lost the right to divorce, the right to the custody of their children.”
“Mahsa Amini is now a global symbol for freedom, not just in Iran.”Nina Ansary, historian and women’s rights activist
Other moments have brought calls for change. A 2006 campaign sought to gather one million signatures to change Iran’s discriminatory laws, and for the last eight years, journalist and activist Masih Alinejad has posted videos of smaller groups of women engaging in acts of civil disobedience such as walking in the street without hijabs.
But it took Amini’s violent death to galvanize the Iranian people anew and focus the world’s attention. Why?
“Mahsa is a Kurdish girl,” Alinejad says, referring to the ethnic minority group in Iran. “If it was not for the Kurdish people turning her funeral into massive protests against the compulsory hijab and the Islamic Republic, I don’t think that we would have expected such an uprising across Iran.”
Amini’s other power is that she was an ordinary woman to whom thousands could relate. “She wasn’t an activist,” says Hadi Ghaemi, the founder of the Center for Human Rights in Iran. “Her face and her experience were very intimately and tangibly familiar to every family in Iran, because every time their mothers, sisters, and their daughters go out of the house, they have been harassed by the morality police, or detained or even beaten.”
Amini is not the first person to die in custody of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, nor was she the last. Iranian government officials say some 300 people have been killed amid their crackdowns on the protests, though human rights groups say the death toll is closer to 500. Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed to launch an investigation into alleged human rights violations.
Support from the international community gives Ansary and others hope that this moment will finally bring true reform to Iran. “Women won’t relent,” she says. “They haven’t sacrificed decades, and this moment, the last two and a half months, only to go back and go back to their homes.” But the power of the regime cannot be underestimated. It has successfully strong-armed protesters in the past. Ghaemi warns the world that the government could put on a charm offensive, agreeing to surface-level improvements without actually making meaningful change.
On Sunday, December 4, his prediction came true. Some reports emerged that Iran’s attorney general said the morality police had been disbanded, though details have been vague and news reports indicate it’s far too soon to write the morality police’s obituary.
The people of Iran may have to gird themselves for a longer fight, one that could get worse before it gets better. Alinejad believes in the power of Iranian women —and also, sadly, the power of despair. She tells the story of a teenage girl whose mother cautioned her against joining the protests for fear she would be killed.
I can’t choose what I wear, the teen told her mom. I don’t have the right to dance in public. By law, I’m not allowed to be myself. “‘I’m already dead,’” Alinejad says the girl told her mother. “‘But when I go to the streets, I have a dream. And that makes me alive.’”
It’s really a nice and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you shared this helpful info with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
I was able to find good information from
your articles.
I’m not sure why but this website is loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
I know this web site gives quality depending posts
and additional material, is there any other site which presents these
information in quality?
Hello there! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask.
Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog
post or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from
each other. If you’re interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
I look forward to hearing from you! Great blog by the way!
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all folks you really understand what you are speaking approximately!
Bookmarked. Kindly additionally consult with my web site =).
We may have a hyperlink change contract among us
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you’re
using? I’m having some minor security problems with my latest
blog and I would like to find something more safe. Do you
have any recommendations?
Outstanding quest there. What happened after? Thanks!
Link exchange is nothing else but it is just placing the other person’s weblog link on your page at
appropriate place and other person will also do same for
you.
It’s really a great and helpful piece of info.
I’m happy that you shared this helpful information with us.
Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
If some one desires to be updated with latest technologies therefore he must
be visit this web page and be up to date daily.
Hi, yeah this piece of writing is truly good and I have learned lot
of things from it about blogging. thanks.
For newest news you have to visit world wide web and on web I found
this web site as a finest web page for hottest updates.
Asking questions are genuinely good thing if you are not understanding anything totally, however this post gives pleasant understanding yet.
First off I would like to say excellent blog!
I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing.
I’ve had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out.
I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints?
Thank you!
Keep this going please, great job!
Excellent article. I absolutely love this site. Stick with it!
Hey there I am so excited I found your website, I really found you by error, while I was browsing
on Google for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say
thanks a lot for a remarkable post and a all round interesting
blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to go through it
all at the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds,
so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the fantastic work.
Having read this I believed it was extremely informative.
I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this article together.
I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both
reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
If you are going for most excellent contents like me,
just pay a visit this web page all the time because it gives quality contents, thanks
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems
as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your
intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this article and the rest of the site is also very good.
Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog
and I’m impressed! Extremely helpful information specifically the last part 🙂
I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this
particular info for a long time. Thank you and good luck.
you’re in point of fact a just right webmaster.
The web site loading velocity is amazing. It sort of feels that you’re
doing any unique trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece.
you’ve done a excellent job on this topic!
I think this is among the most important info for me.
And i’m glad reading your article. But wanna remark on some general
things, The website style is perfect, the articles is really great
: D. Good job, cheers
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast!
What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but
after reading through some of the post I realized
it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely glad I found it and I’ll
be book-marking and checking back often!
Excellent post. I absolutely love this website. Keep it
up!
I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to be
what precisely I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content available for you?
I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a lot of
the subjects you write concerning here. Again,
awesome web log!
Your method of explaining all in this paragraph is really nice, all
be capable of without difficulty understand it, Thanks
a lot.
Hello my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include almost all significant infos.
I’d like to see more posts like this .
hey there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked
up anything new from right here. I did however expertise several technical points using
this website, as I experienced to reload the web site a
lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly.
I had been wondering if your web host is OK?
Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances
times will sometimes affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
Well I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for a lot more of your respective interesting
content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.
Wow! In the end I got a blog from where I be able to genuinely obtain valuable data regarding my study and knowledge.
Hey there, You have done an incredible job.
I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends.
I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this site.
For the reason that the admin of this website is working, no
question very quickly it will be famous, due to its feature contents.
Hi there, I read your blogs regularly. Your humoristic style is witty, keep doing what you’re
doing!
Hello there I am so delighted I found your website, I really found you by
mistake, while I was searching on Digg for something else, Anyways I am here now and
would just like to say thanks for a remarkable post and a all round interesting blog
(I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more,
Please do keep up the awesome jo.
Hi, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this article. It was practical.
Keep on posting!
I am really impressed together with your writing abilities and also with the structure on your weblog.
Is this a paid subject matter or did you modify it yourself?
Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it is rare to peer a
nice blog like this one today..
Hurrah! At last I got a website from where I
can genuinely obtain useful facts regarding my study and knowledge.
Thanks very interesting blog!
Thank you for any other magnificent article.
Where else may just anyone get that type of information in such an ideal manner of
writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the search for such information.
Hi there everyone, it’s my first go to see at this website,
and article is truly fruitful for me, keep up posting
such articles or reviews.
I believe what you said made a bunch of sense.
However, think on this, suppose you composed a catchier title?
I am not saying your information isn’t solid, but suppose
you added a post title that grabbed folk’s attention?
I mean Mahsa Amini: The Spark That Ignited A Women-Led Revolution – Womenpreneur is kinda plain. You should
look at Yahoo’s front page and see how they write article headlines to grab people interested.
You might add a related video or a picture or two to grab readers interested about everything’ve written.
In my opinion, it might make your website a little livelier.
My brother recommended I might like this website.
He was entirely right. This put up actually made my day.
You cann’t consider just how so much time I had spent for this information! Thank you!
I got this website from my buddy who shared with me on the
topic of this website and now this time I am visiting this site and reading very
informative articles at this time.
hello!,I like your writing very a lot! share we be in contact more about your article on AOL?
I require a specialist in this house to solve my problem.
Maybe that’s you! Having a look ahead to look you.
You actually make it appear so easy with your presentation however I to find this matter
to be really something that I believe I might by no means
understand. It seems too complicated and very vast for me.
I’m having a look ahead for your next publish, I will try to get the grasp
of it!
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked
submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr…
well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to
say fantastic blog!
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful post. Thanks for supplying
this information.
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or
something to do with internet browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
The style and design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Thanks
Hmm it seems like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll
just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any helpful hints for first-time blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate
it.
I’m no longer certain the place you are getting your info, however good topic.
I must spend a while finding out much more or figuring out
more. Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this information for my mission.
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this blog.
I am hoping to view the same high-grade content by you later on as well.
In truth, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own site now 😉