Four Years After Mahsa Amini's Death, Iranians Reflect on the Lasting Impact of 'Woman, Life, Freedom'

Four years ago this week, Mahsa “Jina” Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was leaving a metro station in Tehran with members of her family when she was detained by the Guidance Patrol, Iran’s morality police, for perceived noncompliance with Iran’s mandatory hijab laws. Amini’s headscarf had slightly receded from her forehead, so two female and two male members of the morality police put her in a van and transported her to a so-called re-education centre.

Security camera footage released by the government showed Amini in the downtown Tehran re-education centre collapsing onto the ground, as a chador-clad policewoman scolded her. She was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead three days later on September 16, 2022. While authorities claimed she had pre-existing health conditions and denied wrongdoing, her father, Amjad Amini, stated that fellow prisoners told him she had been beaten inside the police van.

Two female journalists helped break the story, featuring a poignant image of her parents embracing in front of the intensive care unit. These journalists were later imprisoned on national security charges. Following small demonstrations at the hospital and her funeral in Saqqez, protests quickly spread across Iran, calling for greater freedoms. The movement lasted into early 2023 with global support.

The United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran reported that at least 550 Iranians were killed during the protests, including 68 children and 49 women across 26 provinces. The Kurdish slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” became the rallying cry of a movement that has transformed how Iranians dress and think. Residents in Tehran like Bahar and Setareh noted that despite lingering risks, cultural shifts have made public attitudes more accepting of women choosing how they dress.

Meanwhile, the government has continued its efforts to enforce dress codes. A harsh hijab bill was passed in late 2023, though President Masoud Pezeshkian noted difficulties in enforcement. Mai Sato, special UN rapporteur on human rights in Iran, highlighted that cafes and shops continue to face closures and arrests over hijab rules. Recent local reports indicated new arrests in Isfahan, Rasht, and Mashhad, while businesses in Saqqez and other Kurdistan cities shuttered to mark the anniversary.

Senior Iranian officials, including Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and Hossein Taeb, have commented on the ongoing challenges regarding cultural policies and domestic cohesion amid broader regional conflicts. Concurrently, Amnesty International released a report reiterating that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during the protests, calling for criminal investigations into 87 officials.