Female protesters in Iran have begun burning their headscarves as riots continue into a second week, following the death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini, who was believed to have been beaten by the country’s morality police for not complying with mandatory dress codes requiring women to wear a hijab.
Across the country, protests have escalated in the past twenty-four hours, with demonstrations culminating in women throwing off their hijabs, dancing with their hair out and throwing their headscarves into a fire.
Entering its fifth consecutive night, protests in Sari, north of Tehran, saw large crowds cheering as women danced around a fire, setting their hijabs alight in defiance of Sharia law.
Only weeks ago, Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi announced plans to increase the surveillance of women who do not comply with the strict hijab-wearing law.
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, women have been required to wear the hijab head-covering when out in public.
Amini died last Friday after falling into a coma following her arrest in Tehran on Tuesday.