In late September 2022, a young Kurdish woman from the western Iranian town of Saqqez was visiting the capital city of Tehran with her family. On what should have been an ordinary Tuesday, Mahsa Amini was arrested by the Iranian police’s Moral Security Division for allegedly violating hijab regulations. During her arrest, Mahsa was brutally beaten and, after losing consciousness, was taken to Kasra Hospital, where she was declared brain-dead and died three days later. Mahsa’s death sent shockwaves across Iran and became a catalyst for months of mass protests and civil disobedience against the regime. Iranians from all over the country boldly rose up, outraged with the Islamic Republic’s draconian policies. Protests in Iran spread to some 160 cities,1 with the participants in the tens of thousands,2 risking their safety to voice their dissent. As Iranians took to the streets, the Kurdish slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” was...

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