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• 1 media/Screen Shot 2024-10-27 at 5.50.01 PM.png 2024-10-02T10:24:01-07:00 Mahsa Jina Amini 35 A Catalyst for the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran image_header 2024-12-08T14:24:44-08:00 Mahsa Jina Amini’s death on September 16, 2022, after being detained by Iran’s morality police, caused nationwide protests that showed women’s deep-rooted frustrations with the regime’s repressive policies. Her arrest for “violating” the strict hijab code sparked a powerful movement, uniting people across different ethnicities and class statuses under the powerful slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” 
  
  
  Below, I have a translation of the background story along with a spoken clip of Mahsa's mother. You can listen to it here: Radio Farda 1:57-3:18. 
      
  On the evening of September 13th, an ordinary Tuesday like any other Tuesday, a young woman, along with her brother and cousin, got off the metro. She was just like many other ordinary girls. The Haghani Metro Station, near places like the forest-like Taleghani Park, the Tabiat Bridge, the Book Garden, Ab-o-Atash Park, the National Library of Iran, and Vanak Square, are all locations where people often explore, creating new memories. She, too, was exploring and making new memories. But she became a memory in the minds of others, and after that Tuesday, normal days no longer existed—neither for her family nor for the people of Iran.
  
  Let’s hear from her mother, just one hour before Mahsa Jina Amini passed away in Kasra Hospital in Tehran:
  
  “A day ago, we were in Shomal, ma'am. Just a day ago. I have her picture. She was the healthiest of the healthy. She was cheerful and happy. On the way back, her father suggested we stop in Tehran to visit Jina’s aunt. We came here because it was nearby. Jina was perfectly healthy.”
  
  Mahsa Amini was not the first victim of Iran's strict morality police, as countless women have suffered persecution. However, her death has sparked a significant uprising, awakening a collective consciousness among Iranians. They have realized that there is no turning back. “Her face has lit up a billboard in Times Square, and been painted on murals in Paris and Berlin. Vienna and Los Angeles have even named streets after her” (Fassihi, 2023). Mahsa represents a new generation of Iran, one in which women are no longer harassed for their hijabs and parents are not banned from attending their own daughters' commemorations (Fassihi, 2023).
  
  
  
  
  Mahsa Amini’s Kurdish name, Jina, has become a powerful symbol of the Iranian uprising. Meaning "life" in Kurdish, Jina has a very deep significance in the context of the protests. The slogan "Jin, Jian, Azadi," from the Kurdish liberation movement, translated to "Women, Life, Freedom", echoes her name, with “life” at the center (Siamdoust, 2022). This movement honors Mahsa's name as it fights to reclaim women's personal freedoms. 
  
  The protests have been building for a long time, as women are tired of being humiliated and targeted just for trying to live their daily lives. In 2006 alone, 1.3 million women were stopped and cited for wearing “loose headscarves” (Bayat, 2022). The killing of Mahsa Amini, one of these women, “has given rise to an extraordinary political uprising in which women and their dignity, indeed human dignity at large, have gained a prominent place” (Bayat, 2022). Because of this movement, the protests are no longer just about Iranian women but also about global feminism. This solidarity has added pressure on the Iranian regime, which is causing a violent response. In the four months after Mahsa’s killing, the Islamic Republic used unnecessary force, such as metal pellets, birdshot, and ammunition against protesters. There has even been the regular use of the death penalty and sexual exploitation (Bolourchi, Page 729). The government’s excessive use of force shows not only its fear of losing control but also the global significance that the movement has gained. 
  
  
  What began with the death of one woman has evolved into a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression worldwide. Mahsa Jina Amini's death triggered a movement that has grown beyond Iran, highlighting the fight for women's dignity. As we mark the second anniversary of her death, people from diverse backgrounds have come together to show the impact that collective resistance can have.
  
  - K.A.
  
  References:
  
  https://soundcloud.com/radio-farda/pnapxss9vusx
  
  Zandi, Jiyan. 2022. “It’s Vital to Center Jina Mahsa Amini’s Kurdish Identity.” Time. November 23, 2022. https://time.com/6236067/mahsa-amini-jina-iran-kurdish-identity/.
  
  Siamdoust, Nahid. 2022. “Woman, Life, Liberty: A Slogan One Hundred Years in the Making.” New Lines Magazine. October 4, 2022. https://newlinesmag.com/argument/woman-life-liberty-a-slogan-one-hundred-years-in-the-making/.
  
  Bayat, Asef. 2022. “A New Iran Has Been Born — a Global Iran.” New Lines Magazine. October 26, 2022. https://newlinesmag.com/argument/a-new-iran-has-been-born-a-global-iran/
  
  Sadeghi-Boroujerdi - “Iran’s Uprisings for ‘Women, Life, Freedom’: Over-Determination, Crisis, and the Lineages of Revolt"
  
  Fassihi, Farnaz. 2023. “‘An Innocent and Ordinary Young Woman.’” The New York Times, September 16, 2023, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/16/world/middleeast/mahsa-amini-iran-protests-hijab-profile.html.
  
  News, A. B. C. n.d. “Men Targeted by Iranian Regime as Women Protest for Equal Rights.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/men-now-targeted-iranian-regime-women-protest-equal/story?id=103291751.
  
  “An Iranian Journalist Broke the News of Mahsa Amini’s Death. Now She’s in Jail.” n.d. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-mahsa-amini-journalist-broke-news-jail.
  
  “Biden’s Part in the Gender Apartheid State in Iran.” 2022. Tablet Magazine. September 21, 2022. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/gender-apartheid-state-iran-mahsa-amini-joe-biden.