- Protesters shout anti-government slogans at Mahsa Amini’s funeral.
- The 22-year-old died after being detained by morality police enforcing hijab rules.
- Women in Iran are required to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes.
Protests erupted at the funeral of a young woman who died after being detained by morality police enforcing strict hijab rules in western Iran on Saturday, with security forces using tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
Protesters shouted anti-government slogans after gathering in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown, from nearby cities in Iran’s Kurdistan province to mourn the 22-year-old, who died in a hospital in the capital Tehran on Friday.
“Death to the dictator,” some protesters chanted, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as police fired tear gas. On a video, at least one man was shown with a head injury, and someone could be heard saying that it was caused by birdshot.
In recent months, rights activists have urged women to remove their veils in public, risking arrest for defying the Islamic dress code as the country’s hardline rulers crack down on “immoral behaviour.”
Social media videos have shown cases of what appeared to be heavy-handed morality police action against women who had removed their hijab.
Authorities have launched investigations into Amini’s death, but a medical examiner said on Saturday that the results of forensic tests could take three weeks, according to state media.
Police said Amini became ill while waiting with other detained women at a morality police station, rejecting social media claims that she was beaten.
Internet blockage monitoring service On Friday, NetBlocks reported a “significant internet outage” in Tehran, which they attributed to the protests.
Women in Iran are required to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to conceal their figures under sharia, or Islamic law, imposed after the 1979 revolution. Violators face public chastisement, fines, or arrest.
Decades after the revolution, clerical rulers continue to struggle to enforce the law, with many women of all ages and backgrounds dressed in thigh-length coats and brightly coloured scarves pushed back to expose plenty of hair.
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