‘Not a choice but most visible symbol of oppression’: Iranian students on hijab as protests over Amini death rock Tehran

New Delhi: In what seems to be a first of sorts for most West Asian countries where patriarchy has been the norm for decades, men too are pouring out on the streets of Iran’s capital Tehran to join the massive protests which erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was harassed and arrested by the country’s “morality police” last week. Waving black headscarves in the air, large groups of varsity students comprising nearly as many men as there were women took to the streets of the Iranian capital city, protesting against the killing of Mahsa Amini . The protests were marked by chants of “We don’t want forced hijab”. “Hijab is not a choice for Iranian women. It is one of the most visible symbols of oppression for us,” read one of the many tweets doing the rounds on social media all marked with #MahsaAmini as the protests in Tehran entered the sixth day following the young woman’s death. Unlike other violent protests involving the hijab, even in certain Indian states, most of the protests in Iran are marked by non-violence. People have taken to the streets but they are not destroying public or private property. “Women and men, all in sync, in a massive massive crowd. This is Iran and this is how an actual protest looks like against the oppressive ruling,” read another tweet. Protests in the West Asian region, as and when they occur have rarely seen men coming out in large numbers to demand free and fair rights for women— those rights which in most developing and developed countries of the world are a given for modern women. This time round, videos emerging from protest sites in Tehran clearly show the involvement of men and also predict an end to the autocratic regime in the country. Tweets highlighting slogans like “Khamenei will be overthrown this month,” and “the regime is the main target” also indicate that Amini’s death may have worked like a trigger leading to the protests but people too are fed up with oppressive regimes around the world. The fact that men and women are protesting together irrespective of gender issues clearly show that the protests are not just about the hijab as a symbol of oppression or Amini’s death but more about the use of force on common people by ruthless rulers. Mahsa Amini, 22 died in the Iranian capital of Tehran after spending three days in a comatose state post her arrest by the country’s “morality police”. She was arrested and harassed last week by the “morality police” in their bid to enforce a strict dress code in Iran. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.