Amini’s death marks ongoing Iranian repression – NE Syria’s Woman Council
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Crime committed against Mahsa Amini at the hands of the police in Tehran ensures continuity of the repressive policy adopted by Iran, Woman’s Council in North and East Syria said on Tuesday.
This came in a statement by the Platform for Joint Events of Feminist Movements and Organizations in North and East Syria in which it said this heinous crime committed by the Iranian police against the young Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini on September 16 ensures continuity of the repressive policy adopted by “the Iranian Authoritarian regime.”
On September 16, Mahsa Amini died in Kasra hospital days after being detained by the Iranian police for allegedly not complying with the country’s hijab regulations.
Mahsa Amini was arrested when she was travelling with her family to Tehran. Witnesses reported that Amini was beaten in the police van after her arrest, but the police disputed these accounts and claimed that Amini had suffered a heart attack.
The statement added, “Practices carried out by the authoritarian regimes across the world and run by radical movements, especially in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey and others, against people, especial women, in addition to ISIS practices against Yezidi and Assyrian women is the product of the denial and ‘throw away’ mentality.”
“These practices are crimes and blatant violation of all international norms and conventions,” the statement read.
The platform condemned this crime, calling for human rights organizations, UN-women and feminist organizations to document these violations and hold the perpetrators accountable in international courts.
On September 17, the funeral procession of Amini taking place in the Aychi cemetery in Saqez of Kurdistan turned into a protest by mourners who chanted anti-government slogans.
The headscarf and other conservative dress, known as hijab, have been compulsory for women since Iran’s 1979 revolution. Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, has called for strict enforcement of the dress codes.
At the cemetery, women attending the burial rituals removed their hijabs in an act of defiance to the authorities watching nearby.