Four Years Later, Iranians Reflect on Cultural Shift from ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ Protests

Tehran, Iran — Four years have passed since the death of Mahsa “Jina” Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose detention by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating mandatory hijab laws ignited a nationwide uprising. On that fateful day in September 2022, Amini was leaving a metro station in Tehran with her family when the Guidance Patrol detained her because her headscarf had slipped off her forehead. She was placed in a van and taken to a re-education center, where security footage showed her collapsing on the floor before being transported to a hospital. She died three days later on September 16.

While authorities attributed her death to pre-existing health conditions, her father, Amjad Amini, stated that fellow inmates reported her daughter had been beaten inside the police vehicle. The incident was brought to national attention by two female journalists for local newspapers, who published an emotional image of Amini’s parents embracing outside the intensive care unit. Both journalists were subsequently imprisoned on national security charges.

What began as small gatherings outside the hospital and in Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in western Iran’s Kurdistan province rapidly escalated into widespread protests demanding greater freedoms for women and all Iranians. The demonstrations, which continued into early 2023, drew global solidarity and were accompanied by the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom,” derived from a Kurdish saying.

The United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran later confirmed that at least 550 people were killed during the crackdown, including 68 children and 49 women, across 26 of the country’s 31 provinces.

For many Iranians, the movement has left an indelible mark on social norms. Bahar, a 26-year-old Tehran resident who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity for security reasons, described a profound cultural shift. “I thought we would never be able to choose the way we want to dress, but the movement created massive cultural change and a more progressive identity that can never be taken away now,” she said. Although she kept a headscarf draped around her neck for months after the protests subsided due to fear of reprisal, she no longer carries one.

Other young women report that societal attitudes are evolving. Setareh, another Tehran resident, noted that she faces fewer instances of verbal harassment and ride-hailing cancellations. “People and families, especially men, are now more accustomed to women dressing more naturally, even if they don’t like it,” she said.

The mandate for women to wear the hijab remains a cornerstone of Iranian law since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In late 2023, Parliament approved a stringent bill imposing harsher penalties for hijab violations. However, President Masoud Pezeshkian stated he could not implement the law, citing widespread public rejection and the risk of further unrest amid existing international pressures.

Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, noted on Wednesday that despite the suspension of the harsh bill, authorities continue to shut down cafes, restaurants, and shops, arresting staff and customers for non-compliance. Recent reports indicate that security forces arrested several women over hijab infractions in Isfahan, with similar crackdowns reported in Rasht and Mashhad.

To mark the anniversary of Amini’s death, businesses in Saqqez and other cities in Kurdistan have closed, and security forces have been deployed to main squares in anticipation of protests. Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a senior official and father-in-law of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, criticized the trend of unveiled women as a “decadent Western lifestyle” propagated by internal enemies.

Haddad-Adel also pointed to the ongoing war as a factor in enforcement strategies. Iran has been in a state of war since February 28, following strikes by the United States and Israel that killed much of the Iranian leadership and 120 children at a school in Minab. “Due to war conditions, for now we can’t enter the arena of hijab the way we should,” Haddad-Adel said, acknowledging laxer police enforcement. Hossein Taeb, head of the Basij paramilitary force under the IRGC, echoed calls for unity, stating, “We must not allow such issues to disturb our domestic cohesion.”

In an extensive report released Wednesday, Amnesty International reiterated that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during the 2022 protests. The organization called for accountability and named 87 officials for criminal investigation, including IRGC, police, and Interior Ministry figures. The list included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and armed forces commander Mohammad Bagheri, both of whom were killed in the recent conflict, as well as Ahmad Vahidi, the current IRGC commander-in-chief who served as interior minister at the time of the protests.