Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of the “morality police” in Iran has sparked outrage as fellow Iranians show their support by protesting and cutting their own hair. 

The young Kurdish woman was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Iran has claimed she had a heart attack in detention, but given her age and her death in custody, intense protests soon began.

Amini’s death sparked rebellion and protests on the streets as the people of Iran have become fed up with the treatment of Iranian women, which has been happening for years, starting with the Islamic revolution of Iran. 

According to the United Nations, over 47,000 women were killed worldwide by their partners or family members in 2020 alone. However, this form of gender violence is largely ignored because too many societies don’t value the lives of women as a whole. 

Amini’s death tells the tale of control, especially over women’s bodies and their lives. In too many parts of the world, those in power view women as less than human, so their death has no meaning. If a woman can get killed over a piece of fabric, what value do they have as human beings? 

Amini’s hijab issue was considered a crime worse than murder. 

Although Aimini’s death is getting widespread attention, she is not the only woman who has been murdered. There have been several cases of women being killed for the simplest things. 

In February 2022, a 17-year-old, Mona Heydari, was beheaded by her own husband after she had fled to Turkey, fearing for her life. Similarly, a Pakistani celebrity influencer by the name of Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death by her brother back in 2016, because he felt Baloch’s photos on social media dishonored the family. 

In the name of “honor,” women have been deprived of their right to exist. If her brother had become an internet sensation, would Baloch have killed him in the same way? Of course not.

This is all despite the fact that Amini, Baloch, and Heydari were living, breathing souls with hopes and dreams. They had family, friends, and loved ones, but they were unprotected from the cruelty of this world. If society as a whole can’t protect women who already exist, how will they protect future generations of women? 

Too much of the world sees women as a burden that needs to be plucked out like weeds instead of nurturing them and letting them grow like a human being.