Iranian schoolgirls protest against the regime by taking off their hijabs
In an unprecedented display of support for the protests roiling the nation, Iranian schoolgirls have been chanting against clerical authorities and waving their headscarves in the air.
Social media is flooded with videos showing protests in schoolyards and on the streets of various cities. Echoing the wider turmoil brought on by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was imprisoned and later died, for violating the hijab rule last month.
Girls allegedly forced an education official out of their Karaj school. They can be seen chanting “shame on you” and tossing what appear to be empty water bottles at the man in video that was uploaded to social media on Monday until he flees through a gate.
Students can be heard shouting in a different video from Karaj, which is located just to the west of Tehran’s capital city, “If we don’t unite, they will kill us one by one.”
On Monday, dozens of schoolgirls in the southern city of Shiraz blocked traffic on a major route while exclaiming “death to the dictator” in reference to the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all issues of state.
On Tuesday, more schoolgirl protests were reported in Karaj, Tehran, and the northern cities of Saqez and Sanandaj. Several students were also captured on camera standing in their classes with their heads uncovered. Some of them were seen making an offensive gesture by raising their middle fingers in the direction of pictures of Ayatollah Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the man who founded the Islamic Republic.
As a result, students have come under fire from the morality police. Iranian morality police can be seen beating schoolgirls in the most recent videos that have been made public.
What Led To Iran’s Students’ Massive Uprising?
The schoolgirl protests started after Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, broke his silence on the unrest and accused Iran’s archenemies, the United States and Israel, of instigating “riots.”
He also offered the security forces, who had violently suppressed the protests, his complete support.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was imprisoned by morality police on September 13 in Tehran for allegedly breaking the legislation mandating women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, passed away as a result of her injuries. Her detention was the catalyst for the uprising. A week later, in the hospital, she passed away.
Her family claims that police hit her in the head with a baton and one of their cars. She was not harmed, according to the police, who claimed she had “sudden cardiac failure.”
The country’s initial protests began in Ms. Amini’s home region of north-western Iran, which is home to a sizable Kurdish population.
A group called Iran Human Rights, which is located in Norway, said on Tuesday that security forces have killed at least 154 people so far. They include the 63 demonstrators who, according to ethnic Baluch activists, were killed during violence on Friday in the southern city of Zahedan.
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