One Year After Masamini's Death: Anti-Government Protests Continue in Iran

Published on September 16, 2023 by Time Canvas 360

It has been a year since the custodial death of 22-year-old Masamini in Iran snowballed into a nationwide uprising. The anti-government protests that followed have been seen as a revolution against the curtailment of women's rights and freedom in the country.

Fresh reports indicate that Masamini's father has also been detained. Let's go through all the details of what happened in this one year.

September 13th, 2022, marked the day when Iran's so-called morality police arrested 22-year-old Masamini for not wearing a hijab. Little is known about what happened during the next three days, but Masamini died in custody on September 16th. Iran's police claimed she died due to a heart attack, but her family and witnesses say that she was beaten by the police, and that's what killed her.

The cause of her death sparked widespread outrage, and protests erupted on a scale Iran had not seen in decades. On September 22nd, President Abraham Risi showed sympathy towards Masamini, stating that acts of chaos were unacceptable.

Strong demonstrations grew into a large movement in the following days. On September 30th, over 80 people were killed by security forces in what is known as the gruesome "Bloody Friday." On October 3rd, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei finally spoke up and blamed enemies for fueling the unrest.

These protests were unprecedented in Iran. While protests had taken place in the nation before, these were different. It became Iran's largest protest movement in decades, led by women. Many women displayed courage by cutting their hair and burning their headscarves, which became a symbol of the protest not only in Iran but worldwide.

The protests spread worldwide, and public support for the protesters grew larger than ever. People had a history of being suppressed by the regime, but they no longer wanted to endure such suppression, particularly the suppression of women. The death of Masamini fueled people's anger, and they reacted against the regime.

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