The death of 22-year-old Amini has sparked global outrage. It raises serious questions on the sorry state of affairs of Iranian women.

Did you know that letting your hair blow in the wind is a crime in Iran?", asked a woman protesting in Tehran. The words are poignant, and hard-hitting and capture the angst of Iranian women, their agony, state of despair, and desire to live freely and

independently with dignity.

In an era where women are shaping the world, it is indeed heart-wrenching to know that a 22-year-old woman in Iran died a tragic, misogynistic death for not covering her head properly with a hijab. MahsaAmini, a young girl, was stopped by the morality police of Iran for wearing the hijab loosely over her head and taken to a police station to re-educate her on how she should dress properly. Some reports say her death was caused by a skull fracture from heavy blows to the head, however, Iran's

morality police claim Amini collapsed from a heart attack.

Whatever the cause of Amini's death, one thing is clear, she died under

mysterious, unfavourable, and unfair circumstances. Streets of Tehran have been lit with pyres of hijab and hair of women since then. The outburst is almost like a revolution that should shake the conscience of the world, for its time humanity decided, cutting across boundaries of religions and regions, and the basic and essential human rights.

Aggrieved and hapless, the plight of AmjadAmini, the father of the victim, can't be imagined. He tells the mullah performing prayers over his daughter's dead body, "Your religion denounced her, now you've come to pray over her? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You killed her for two strands of hair! … Take your religion and go." The words "You killed her for two strands of hair" stand out, for they paint a telling picture of the sorry state of affairs for women in Iran.

The episode indeed begs some serious questions: Why in the 21st century are women being told how to dress? Who are these so-called  custodians of religion who have taken on the mantle to police women on how they should dress? Why does a father have to bear the loss of an innocent child for no fault of hers? And how

justified is it on the part of the authorities in various parts of the world to keep women in shackles in the name of religion?

Women in Iran are not fighting the hijab, but the imposition of it. Hijab was enforced upon women to promote modest clothing and prevent any unwanted sexual advances from the opposite sex. It is ironic how a diktat issued to seemingly protect women has in

reality curtailed their

liberty and even threatened their life. A society can never make progress, and be truly free and independent if women in it live subjugated lives like second-class

citizens.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that Iranian women are fighting against the compulsion of hijab. Post the Iranian revolution, women were forced to wear hijabs in public. Later in 1983, they needed to wear headscarves. If they failed to do so, they were subjected to beatings which were

eventually substituted with fines and jail terms. What is disgusting is that all of it w

as done in the name of

religion.

MasihAlinejad, an Iranian-American journalist, in an interview with a

digital news portal,

mentioned how women in Iran were fed stories from early on as to how if they don't wear hijab, they would go to hell. For women all over the world, this would seem appalling and

shocking, but for Iranian women, among many other Muslim women, this is a reality that they continue to live with. To be sure, one is not arguing here that women must not wear hijabs. At the end of the day, every woman has the autonomy to take a call concerning what she wants to wear. However, the act of instilling fear in women from a young age is condemnable.

This is the time when feminists all over the world, cutting across nationalities and religions, must stand in unison with those protesting in Iran for the sake of humanity. This is the time to appreciate and support protesting women in Iran in their endeavor to live freely and with dignity. Most of them have lived a good share of their lives behind a veil, which is akin to living in a box and not knowing what it is like to be outside of it. To their credit, they have shown exemplary zeal to put up a fight for the life they want to live. What they need now is support. The question is who is going to fight alongside them? They need encouragement, liberation, and the chance to come into their own to experience life. That can only happen if voices from all over the world speak for the cause, consistently and forcefully.

(The writer is a postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication and keenly follows and writes on news pertaining to women rights. The views expressed are personal.)