Mahsa Amini Death: Unrest Continues to Grip Iranian Cities for 11th Day

Rabat – Protests continue to grip Iranian cities for the 11th day following the death of Mahsa Amini amid a nationwide internet blackout.

The death toll from the protests reached 41, mainly consisting of protesters, official sources cited in converging news reports indicate. External observers argue the toll is much higher.

Protesters continue to sweep Iranian streets in defiance of a judiciary order.

Online and physical protests demand justice for the death of Mahsa Amini who allegedly died at the hand of the country’s morality police forces, a police department tasked with enforcing public adherence to a dress code in line with a strict interpretation of Islam.

The protests erupted following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who died days after being apprehended by the morality police for wearing an “improper hijab” on September 13 while visiting Tehran.

Amini reportedly died on September 16 in a coma, days after being taken into custody. The Iranian police have denied any wrongdoing and maintained she had fallen ill in detention, calling her death an “unfortunate incident.”

Protests take streets, internet by storm

In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death, Iranian citizens took to social media protesting police brutality, with the video of Amini’s violent arrest garnering millions of views on TikTok and other social media.

@lakemonstersarereal #fypシ #fyp #iran #oppression #sosiran #helpiran #mahsaamini #مهسا_امینی ♬ original sound – /.|_|

Thousands of women and men from all around the world and in Iran took to the streets. Videos posted online of young women and men shaving and cutting their hair as an act of protest are equally going viral.

Twitter users shared the #MahsaAmini hashtag over 1,500 times in just one hour on Monday. Protests on the streets have escalated to acts of public vandalism as protesters burned down public property in a show of anger and resentment towards police brutality against women in the country.

Other women protested Amini’s death by burning their headscarves in bonfires set up in the middle of roads.

In a show of international solidarity with Iranian women’s struggle against an oppressive dress code, protests have also swept cities around the world including Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, Madrid, and New York.