On September 16th, Iran’s morality police arrested 22-year old Mahsa Amini for wearing improper hijab. The morality police reportedly beat Amini until she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and a stroke. Upon learning of her death days later at a hospital in Tehran, Iranians across the country took to the streets in protest of the government’s brutal repression. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has mandated the hijab in public spaces for women on religious grounds. These laws have been met since that time by peaceful protests, often led by women. Iran’s government has put down these protests by force and is actively doing so now.

Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, founder of the ARAM Alliance, joins us today to discuss the interconnection between religious freedom and women’s rights in Iran.

Read USCIRF’s 2022 Country Update on Iran

With Contributions from:

Scott Weiner, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF