Without a veil or headscarf, a young woman proudly defies Iranian police during a rally commemorating Mahsa Amini on October 12 in Tehran. SalamPix/ABACA
STORY – Young Iranians take to the streets and demonstrate against the conservative and repressive regime. Some don’t survive.
On September 20, around 5 p.m., Nika Shakarami puts on her sneakers before leaving the small Tehran apartment. The essentials in his backpack: a bottle of water, a towel and his identity papers. The 16-year-old Iranian told her aunt, with whom she lives, that she was spending the night with her sister, who lived in a student residence.
In fact, she has only one thing on her mind: to join the protests that have swelled since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was beaten to death by police officers over an ill-fitting veil. In a video that was later published on the Internet, Nika stands bareheaded on an overturned dumpster in the middle of the street. “Down with the dictator!” screams the crowd as they burn their obligatory headscarf before throwing it to the ground.
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Is the Iranian teenager aware of the danger? Does she imagine this gesture of incredible bravery being one of the key symbols of the rebels of…
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