In the 3rd week, a girl’s mother was killed in the protests and she stands near her grave, holding her own shaved-off hair.
There were over 90 people killed while 1500 are detained and yet this did not stop their protests. Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been detained by Iran’s morality police in the capital Tehran for allegedly not adhering to Iran’s strict Islamic dress code. The protesters have vented their outrage over the treatment of women and wider repression in the Islamic Republic. The nationwide demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the clerical establishment that has ruled Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution.
Rana Rahimpour writes, “A girl’s mother was killed in the Iran protests. Standing over her grave, with her shaved head, holding her hair in her hand, not wearing a compulsory hijab… This is what defiance looks like… Iranian women are making history.”
#MahsaAmini
Her mother was killed in #Iran protests. Standing over her grave, with her shaved her, holding her hair in her hand, not wearing compulsory hijab… This is how defiance looks like… Iranian women are making history. #MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/xIoN5qFOkJ
— Rana Rahimpour (@ranarahimpour) September 30, 2022
Iran’s parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that protests over the death of a young woman in police custody could destabilize the country and urged security forces to deal harshly with those he claimed to endanger public order, as countrywide unrest entered its third week.
Local media said a police officer also had died in the Kurdish city of Marivan, following injuries during clashes with protesters. The protests have drawn supporters from various ethnic groups, including Kurdish opposition movements in the northwest of Iran that operate along the border with neighboring Iraq. Amini was an Iranian Kurd and the protests first erupted in Kurdish areas.
Posts on social media showed there were scattered anti-government protests in Tehran and running clashes with security forces in other towns Sunday, even as the government has moved to block, partly or entirely, internet connectivity in Iran.
Turkish singer Melek Mosso chops off her hair in support of Iran protests over Mahsa Amini’s death. It is reported by UN Human Rights organizations that at least 90 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept 17.
Qalibaf, the parliamentary speaker, is a former influential commander in the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Along with the president and the head of the judiciary, he is one of three ranking officials who deal with all important issues of the nation.
The three meet regularly and sometimes meet with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters.
Qalibaf said he believes many of those taking part in recent protests had no intention of seeking to overthrow the government in the beginning and claimed foreign-based opposition groups were fomenting protests aimed at tearing down the system. Iranian authorities have not presented evidence for their allegations of foreign involvement in the protests.
“Creating chaos in the streets will weaken social integrity, jeopardizing the economy while increasing pressure and sanctions by the enemy,” he said, referring to longstanding crippling U.S. Sanctions on Iran.
Qalibaf promised to “amend the structures and methods of the morality police” to prevent a recurrence of what happened to Amini. She died in the custody of the morality police. Her family alleged she was beaten, while officials claim she died of a heart attack.
His remarks came after a closed meeting of Parliament and a brief rally by lawmakers to voice support for Khamenei and the police, chanting “death to hypocrites,” a reference to Iranian opposition groups.
The statement by Qalibaf is seen as an appeal to Iranians to stop their protests while supporting the police and the security apparatus.
Meanwhile, the hard-line Kayhan daily said Sunday that knife-carrying protesters attacked the newspaper building Saturday and shattered windows with rocks. It said they left when Guard members were deployed to the site.
On Saturday, protests continued on the Tehran University campus and in nearby neighborhoods and witnesses said they saw many girls waving their headscarves above their heads in a gesture of defiance. Social media carried videos purportedly showing similar protests at the Mashhad and Shiraz universities but The Associated Press could not independently verify their authenticity.
A protester near Tehran University, 19-year-old Fatemeh who only gave her first name for fear of repercussions, said she joined the demonstration “to stop this behavior by police against younger people, especially girls.”
Abdolali, a 63-year-old teacher who also declined to give his last name, said he was shot twice in the foot by police. He said: “I am here to accompany and support my daughter. I once participated in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that promised justice and freedom; it is time to materialize them.”
Protests resumed on Sunday in several cities including Mashhad, according to social media reports, and Tehran’s Sharif Industrial University, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. Witnesses said security was tight in the areas nearby Tehran University and its neighborhoods downtown as hundreds of anti-riot police and plain clothes with their cars and motorbikes were stationed on junctions and squares. The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the reports.
Also on Sunday, media outlets reported the death of another Revolutionary Guard member in the southeastern city of Zahedan. That brought to five the number of IRG members killed in an attack on a police station by gunmen that, according to state media, left 19 people dead.
It wasn’t evident if the attack, which Iranian authorities said was carried out by separatists, was related to the anti-government protests.
Reza Pahlavi an advocate for a secular, democratic Iran said, “The Islamic Republic is firing on students at #Iran’s #Sharif_University. Yet, reports indicate the US may send this criminal regime billions yet again.
@POTUS, you have yet to help our people. At least don’t fund the bullets piercing the hearts of our youth!
The Islamic Republic is firing on students at #Iran's #Sharif_University. Yet, reports indicate the US may send this criminal regime billions yet again.@POTUS, you have yet to help our people. At least don't fund the bullets piercing the hearts of our youth!#MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/XZy86xG2mc
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) October 2, 2022