Mahsa Amini protests facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mahsa Amini protests |
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Part of the Iranian protests against compulsory hijab and the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini | |
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Date | 16 September 2022 – present (2 years, 3 months, 1 week and 3 days) |
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Iran, with solidarity rallies worldwide
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Caused by |
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Goals |
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Methods |
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Status | Ongoing |
Mahsa Amini protests began on 14 September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini. She died in Tehran, Iran while being in police custody, following a detention for not wearing her hijab properly.
The Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that Amini had a heart attack at the police station, collapsed, and fell into a coma before being transferred to a hospital. However, eyewitnesses, including women who were detained with Amini, reported that she died as a result of police brutality, which was denied by the Iranian authorities.
As the protests spread from Amini's hometown of Saqqez to other cities in the Iranian Kurdistan and throughout Iran, the government responded with widespread Internet blackouts, nationwide restrictions on social media usage, tear gas and gunfire.
Although the protests have not been as deadly as those in 2019 (when more than 1,500 were killed), they have been "nationwide, spread across social classes, universities, the streets [and] schools", and called the "biggest challenge" to the government of Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. At least 551 people had been killed as a result of the government's intervention in the protests, as of 15 September 2023[update]. An estimated 19,262 have been arrested throughout at least 134 cities and towns, and at 132 universities.
Women, including schoolchildren, have played a key role in the demonstrations. In addition to demands for increased rights for women, the protests have demanded the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, setting them apart from previous major protest movements in Iran, which have focused on election results or economic woes.
The government's response to the protests has been widely condemned.
See also
In Spanish: Protestas por la muerte de Mahsa Amini para niños