Protests in Iran continue after the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in custody of the so-called morality police. Mahsa Amini died last week after being detained for allegedly leaving some of her hair visible in violation of an Iranian law requiring women to cover their heads. Witnesses said Amini was severely beaten by police, but authorities claim she died of natural causes. Thousands of people, often led by young women, have taken to the streets in outrage over Amini’s death, chanting slogans against the morality police and the government, with some burning their headscarves in a show of defiance. “This anger against the morality police and the violence they are committing on the streets has been building up for years,” says Iranian American journalist Negar Mortazavi.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.