Anger is growing in Iran following the murder on 16 September of the young Masha Jina AMINI by the Vice religious Police. When her death was announced, protests took place in the Kurdish region where she was born, as well as in Tehran and several universities in the country.

In the immediate aftermath of the murder, the VAHED bus union in the Tehran region said, among other things:
“We strongly condemn this crime and demand a prosecution, a public trial and the punishment of all those responsible for this murder.”Freedom of expression and clothing, the right to education, employment, divorce, and the right to participate in social activities must be fully included in the rights of all inhabitants of the country, as well as of any social group.
“The structural, institutionalized and patriarchal discrimination against girls and women in the country must stop.”The trade union movement and independent workers’ organizations are strong advocates of equality between men and women. They oppose the requirement to wear the hijab, as well as other injustices and discrimination against women and oppressed people."

On Monday 19 September in the hometown of Mahsa Jina AMINI, Kurdish political parties (banned by the regime) called for a general strike. Since then, various movements have taken place in the Kurdish regions, demanding in particular an end to discrimination against the Kurds, and a possible autonomy. The slogan “Jin, jiyan, azadî” (woman, life, freedom), taken from the free Kurdish women’s movement, is widely chanted by everyone in the demonstrations.

Across the country, thousands of protesters take to the streets every day.
In particular, they denounce the Vice religious Police, placed under the authority of the Minister of the Interior. The latter is in charge of verifying the application of the compulsory wearing of headscarves by women.
According to Amnesty International, "between March 2013 and March 2014, more than 2.9 million Iranian women were warned by the police for not respecting the Islamic dress code, and 18,081 other women were referred to the judicial authorities to be prosecuted and punished.

These events echo the 8 March 1979 International Women’s Day, when hundreds of thousands of women (and men) demonstrated against the introduction of the compulsory wearing of the hijab and the regressions in the Civil Code, as well as for equality between men and women.
Demonstrators attacked symbols of the Islamic Republic established in 1979, taking down statues or tearing up portraits of past or present dignitaries of the regime.
Slogans such as: “Down with the Islamic Republic”, “Death to the dictator”, “No Shah, no Supreme Guide” are chanted in increasing numbers.

As of 1 October, the police had killed at least 133 people. The death of Hadis NAJAFI, who was shot six times, is particularly emotional.

Thousands of arrests take place, including more than 700 so far in a Kurdish province in the north of the country. Many of those arrested are tortured and sentenced to imprisonment or flogging after unfair trials. Many families of detainees gather outside prisons, demanding their release.

Faced with the popularity of the movement, the government has blocked access to the Internet. Demonstrations of support are multiplying around the world.

We strongly condemn the repression of the demonstrators.

In particular, we support :
the essential right of women to control their own bodies,
the repeal of the law making it compulsory to wear the Hijab as well as all phallocratic laws in force.

Paris, 4 October 2022