Why Iranian women are cutting their hair off

In Iran, women are cutting their hair and burning their hijabs after Iran’s morality police arrested a young woman who died shortly after.

Transcript

00:00In Iran, ordinary women are cutting their hair and burning the hijabs to protest the

00:04murder of a young woman by Iran's infamous Morality Police.

00:0922-year-old Masa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when she was arrested because

00:14a veil did not hide her hair well enough.

00:18She was taken into custody by the Morality Police and was allegedly assaulted.

00:22She was in a coma for three days before she died at a hospital there.

00:26Amnesty International said that the circumstances leading to the suspicious death-in-custody

00:31of Masa Amini, which include allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, must be criminally

00:36investigated.

00:37However, the police denied the assault allegation, saying there was no physical contact between

00:42the officers and the victim.

00:44The Iranian Presidential Office said that President Ibrahim Raisi has instructed the

00:47Interior Minister to investigate the case.

00:50The young woman's death has sparked a wave of anger on the internet and also within Iran,

00:55where many people gathered to demonstrate.

00:58In recent months, the Morality Police has been criticised over the increased use of

01:01violence against women in the enforcement methods.

01:04The Morality Police is the unit responsible for enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict

01:09dress code, including the mandatory wearing of headscarves in public.

01:14Hijabs have been compulsory for Iranian women since the establishment of the Islamic Republic

01:18here in 1979.

01:20Since December 2017, many women have been demanding repeal of the law and the removal

01:25of the Morality Police itself.