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INCHEON
61 FOREIGN LANGUAGE
HIGH SCHOOL

The spark of the anti-government demonstration became a fire when 22-year-old Kurdish-born Mahsa Amini
was arrested by the notorious "Moral Police" on Sept. 13 when she visited Tehran. Amini was sent to an
education center because her hair popped out of her scarf too much and she was dressed inappropriately. She
died three days later on Sept. 16, after falling into a coma.

Analysts say that the nature of the 2022 demonstration in Iran spread from the fact-finding of the original

incident to the anti-government demonstration because of the opposition of Iranian women, who have been
oppressed by the conservative government. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian government
enacted the hijab law, forcing women over the age of nine to wear a hijab in public places, as well as restricting
women's external activities. Then, in 1983, Iran's parliament stepped up its punishment by hitting 74 whips on
women who did not hide their heads in public, and in 2005 it established a moral police organization to crack

down on violations of Islamic traditional clothes.

In addition, the recent demonstration was a decisive factor in the spread of anti-government protests, as Iran
returned to hard-line conservatism and economic conditions worsened. For decades, the rule served as a pillar
of the theocracy governing Iran and afflicted Iranians seeking reform. The demonstration is the first action by
Iranian women against Iran's supreme leader's policy as they refuse to be suppressed by dress codes.

As a result, the moral police, which patrol public places to monitor violations of Islamic rules, tightened
regulations on wearing a hijab, and three cafes in the center of Iran's religious city closed down because some
customers did not wear hijab. In a widely shared video on social networking services (SNS), a mother threw
herself in front of a car carrying her daughter who violated hijab regulations and said, "My daughter hurts.

Please don't take me with you." she cried out.

This is not the first anti-government demonstration in Iran since 2000. There were demonstrations against
rigged elections in 2009 and worsening economic difficulties in 2017. In particular, in 2019, Iranian security
forces brutally suppressed anti-government protesters who took to the streets in anger over rising oil prices,
killing about 1,500 people.

Kang min ji (2-8)
kangminji1226@naver.com