Protesters rally in Tehran on October 2. Iran has seen a rare outburst of sustained public anger, driven in large part by women. RFE-RL
World

Anti-Hijab Protests: Young school girls join protests against Iranian regime

In an unprecedented move, schoolgirls have joined the protests that have swept Iran since the death of a woman detained for breaking the hijab law, the media reported.

Author : NewsGram Desk

In an unprecedented move, schoolgirls have joined the protests that have swept Iran since the death of a woman detained for breaking the hijab law, the media reported.

Videos verified by the BBC show teenage students waving their headscarves in the air at demonstrations inside schoolyards and on the streets.

They are also heard shouting slogans against the clerical establishment, including "mullahs must get lost".

The chants echoed those heard at the wider protests over the past two weeks, BBC reported.

In one video posted on social media on Monday, girls in Karaj, a city just to the west of the capital Tehran, force a man believed to be the local education director out of their school and shout "shame on you".

In the southern city of Shiraz, dozens of schoolgirls blocked traffic on the main road while waving their headscarves in the air and shouting "death to the dictator" - a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, BBC reported.

Further protests were reported on Tuesday in Tehran and the north-western cities of Saqez and Sanandaj.

Several students were also photographed standing in their classrooms with their heads uncovered. Some were raising their middle fingers -- an obscene gesture -- at portraits of Ayatollah Khamenei and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the BBC reported.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed police over protests. (File Photo)

The protests by the schoolgirls began hours after Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, broke his silence on the unrest and accused the US and Israel, Iran's arch-enemies, of orchestrating "riots".

He also gave his full backing to the security forces, which have responded to the protests with a violent crackdown.

The unrest was triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who fell into a coma after being detained by morality police on 13 September in Tehran for allegedly violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. She died in hospital three days later. (KB/IANS)

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube and WhatsApp 

Sir Mark Tully - BBC Journalist And Author, Who Called India Home and Valued Its Religious Richness, Dies at 90

Government Accountability Questioned: Why Was Sanjeev Khirwar Appointed MCD Commissioner Despite Thyagraj Stadium Dog-Walking Controversy and Allegations of Administrative Misuse?

Routine Childhood Vaccinations Not Linked to Higher Epilepsy Risk: Study

Woman Arrested in Delhi for Using Fake Diplomatic Plates to Access High-Security Areas Ahead of Republic Day

Delhi Police Register FIR Against US-Based Khalistani Separatist Leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Over Republic Day Threats, Security Tightened