What happened to Mahsa Jina Amin?

Mahsa Amini (22), whose real first name is Zhina or Jina (Kurdish for ‘life’), was violently arrested on September 13 by deputy police in Iran’s capital, Tehran. The police check to see if everyone follows the government’s religious code and arrest women when they don’t wear the headscarf (properly), wear ‘pants too tight’ or don’t comply with the dress code. This was also the reason for Mahsa’s arrest and because of that he was taken to the ‘education center’ at the police station.

According to eyewitnesses, Mahsa was abused by the police. He died a few days later. Authorities claimed he died of ‘sudden heart failure’, but according to his family and witnesses, Mahsa fell into a coma from a blow to the head and was declared brain dead on arrival at the hospital. A United Nations Commissioner demanded an investigation into the death.

Protests and violent approaches

Since Amini’s death, massive protests have erupted against Iran’s strict Islamic regime. Not only because they wear the hijab or not, but also to better demonstrate women’s rights and human rights in general. Iranians took to the streets en masse, chanting slogans against the government and women covered their headscarves and cut their hair. Local authorities took strong action against this: human rights organizations reported thousands of arrests, many injured and at least 340 killed. In early November, Iranian lawmakers voted for tougher punishments for protesters, including the death penalty.