Amidst the ongoing protests in Iran over the mandatory wearing of hijab for women in public, an 18-year-old woman named Mahsa Mogoi was shot dead by the oppressive regime.

The development was confirmed on Friday (September 23) by Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad. In a tweet, she had written, “This is an 18-year-old woman also named Mahsa who was killed by the Islamic republic in the protest over the brutal death of #MahsaAmini Her name is Mahsa Mogoi. She got shot in Isfahan.”

“If the world doesn’t take action, more people with get killed,” Alinjehad said. Mahsa Mogoi is one of the 41 people (as per official figures) who have been mercilessly killed by the Islamic regime of Iran for demanding basic individual freedom in public spheres.

Masih Alinejad also posted a video, containing several images of the deceased anti-hijab protestor.

In a tweet, Iranian-American policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour wrote, “To understand Iran’s protests it’s striking to juxtapose images of the young, modern women killed in Iran over the last week (Mahsa Amini, Ghazale Chelavi, Hanane Kia, Mahsa Mogoi) with the images of the country’s ruling elite, virtually all deeply traditional, geriatric men.”

Death of Mahsa Amini and Hadis Najafi

The ongoing protests in Iran began after a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini died on September 16 in Tehran. She was arrested and tortured by the ‘Morality Police’ for wearing the hijab inappropriately on September 13, 2022. Iranian media reported that Amini fell into a state of coma and was eventually declared brain dead.

Mahsa Amini succumbed to her injuries on September 16. Following her death, there have been large-scale women-led protests in Iran. Videos of women surfaced where they cut off their hair and burnt hijab as a mark of protest against the enforcement of compulsory hijab for women.

Hadis Najafi, a woman in her early 20s, was also killed by the Iranian security forces in Karak city in Alborz Province of Iran for protesting against mandatory hijab rule for women in the Islamic republic. The development was confirmed on Sunday (September 25) night although she was murdered on September 21, 2022.

As per reports, Najafi sustained six bullets to her face, neck, and chest. She is one of the few dozen victims, ruthlessly killed by the oppressive Islamic regime in Iran. Najafi was reportedly protesting against the torture and death of Mahsa Amini.

A video of her funeral was released on social media by her family. In the video, Najafi’s family can be seen grieving in front of her picture.

Iran Protest

To understand Iran's protests it's striking to juxtapose images of the young, modern women killed in Iran over the last week (Mahsa Amini, Ghazale Chelavi, Hanane Kia, Mahsa Mogoi) with the images of the country's ruling elite, virtually all deeply traditional, geriatric men.

83-year-old @khamenei_ir has been ruling since 1989. He's the only leader many young protestors have ever known. The institutions he's empowered-and empower him-are likeminded hardliners whose main source of diversity is whether their beards and turbans are black or white.

The powerful Guardian Council--which is headed by 95-year-old Ayatollah Jannati--has the authority to vet all electoral candidates and veto all parliamentary legislation. It's composed of 12 men, all directly or indirectly appointed by Khamenei. 

The Assembly of Experts are 88 male clerics-all Khamenei loyalists-who have the power to anoint/remove the Supreme Leader. The joke about them is their average age is deceased. It's also chaired by 95-year-old Ayatollah Jannati (who makes Khamenei look youthful).

The Expediency Council is an advisory body to the Supreme Leader. It's composed of 44 men, appointed every 5 years by Khamenei, and headed by 61-year-old Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani. 

Khamenei is the commander-in-chief of Iran's most powerful military body, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), led by 61-year-old Hossein Salami. The IRGC is around 190,000 men who oversee the bassij (morality police) that crush protests and enforce the female dress code.

61-year-old President Ebrahim Raisi is Khamenei's mini-me. His career was launched after serving as a hanging judge in the first decade of the revolution when he oversaw the execution of thousands of political prisoners. 

It's premature to assess whether Iran's ongoing protests will lead to change. But it's totally unsustainable that Iran's women-who is far more educated than its men-will continue to live under a gender apartheid regime ruled by reactionary old men. 

References:

opindia.com