A Country’s Grief
Since 7 a.m., in the footsteps of the yellow mountains, by the Behesht-e Mohammad cemetery, known as “Aychi” by the locals, men and women in traditional Kurdish garbs have gathered to bury Mahsa Gina Amini. When the funeral procession arrives at 10 a.m., Mojgan, the mother of the deceased, stretches her arms toward Saqqez’s clear and says to her dead daughter, “I never thought I’d see you here!”
Mojgan Afkari and Amjad Amini sit by the grave on top of the dirt mound and wail. Amjad, who couldn’t bear Gina’s death, saying, “My daughter was life itself; death does not suit her,” has to be taken to the clinic half-conscious. Mojgan digs her hands into the dirt, throws a handful into the air, and shouts, “Gina, get up. Look, these people have come for you. You were my only daughter. My brave child. Why did you get scared? My precious daughter is gone. You are my life, Gina. What are you doing here?”
Kiarash, whose family calls him Ashkan, had tried to protect his sister in the Haghani metro neighborhood of Tehran where the police dragged her into a van, now rests his head against the coffin and whispers to himself in Kurdish.
Before the scheduled burial at 10 o’clock, the authorities order the family to bury her and leave the cemetery as soon as possible. But they refuse. They take over the hearse and wait for more people to arrive—a Kurdish unity. By 10 o’clock, more than a thousand people have shown up. The people of Saqqez, whose Kurdish voices do not falter, clap, and sing in times of celebration and mourning. This time, in mourning, they shouted, “Women, life, freedom.”
From Tehran to the Cemetery
At 3 p.m., the mourners gather at the Chahar Yaar Nabi Mosque in Saqqez. Gina’s cousin stands at the mosque entrance. With tears rolling down her face, she says, “She was a butterfly; they killed my butterfly. Gina was like a sister to me. She had not spent a night away from her family. Her parents never even raised their voices at her. Her innocence! Everyone loved her. Gina had gone to Tehran to visit her aunt but ended up dead instead. She was wearing modest clothes when the metro police arrested her. They told us they would bring her body from Sanandaj to Saqqez, but she ended up in Tabriz in the middle of the night. No one knew where they had taken her from Tehran. We were distraught. They didn’t want people to come to her funeral, but people did.”
She continues, “Anyone who heard the story attended the funeral. There was such a crowd. Gina had just been accepted to Urmia University, and now, she should have been going to class.” The cousin was still crying when Mr. Amini returned. He had come to the mosque to welcome the mourners who, in his words, “have been very supportive.” “I’m in bad shape,” He explains when my daughter was buried this morning, and I lost it. I got sick and had to go to the clinic.” Mahsa’s father talks about the day he heard the news of Gina’s arrest: “I went to Tehran and found her in Kasra Hospital. That was the last time I saw her. The police took her to the hospital too late, too late that she had a stroke.”
Amjad Amini says his daughter didn’t have any illnesses, and those who claim she had epilepsy, or a heart condition are lying. “She didn’t have epilepsy, nor did she have a heart condition. The most she suffered from was a cold. They’ve made it up. Even the footage they showed from the detention center was edited. Why didn’t they show my daughter getting out of the van? Why didn’t they show the corridors of the detention center? They did this tragedy. We don’t trust the police to find the truth; someone else should figure it out. I don’t want my child’s rights to be violated; whoever did this should be punished. I have filed a complaint with the Tehran Judiciary. I will not give up.”
Another relative who has come to offer condolences says, “The police detained more people today. They add insult to our injury. Our family didn’t even know seventy percent of the people who showed up for the funeral. Gina was a child of Saqqez. Likewise, The boys injured on the streets today are the city’s pride. Our hearts ache for what’s happening.”
Veiled women who, following Kurdish mourning customs, lament, Gina Gyanakam, Gina Gyanakam, cry and claw their faces. Mahsa Amini’s mother has not yet arrived. Mourners say she’s in no condition to come.” Her only daughter has died. Perhaps she won’t come at all, but she does. The women rush to greet her. The sound of wailing fills the mosque. “My beautiful daughter, what are you doing in the ground?” the mother cries, “What should I do without you?” The Kurdish women encircle her, heads resting on shoulders, mourning the innocent daughter of the family. The mother of one of the two girls who were with Gina in Tehran says her daughter is frightened. “She could have been in Gina’s place. I didn’t want her to come here today.” The mother of the second girl, who was forced into the van too but later released, doesn’t want to talk. Nor does her daughter. With tears, she says, “We lost one; we don’t want to lose another.”
Gina’s burial was not yet over when Saqqez residents took to the streets. The protestors were specifically triggered by a statement Kasra Hospital posted on Instagram and later deleted. It read:
Ms. Mahsa Amini was referred to Kasra Hospital at 20:22 on Saturday, September 13, with cardiopulmonary arrest (code 99), without vital signs and with cerebral death, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit where the medical team could restore her heartbeat. The patient remained there, but unfortunately, 48 hours later, on Friday, the patient experienced cardiac arrest again, and despite the medical team’s efforts, she passed away. Therefore, immediately, Ms. Mahsa Amini’s body was referred to forensic medicine for further investigation.
Kasra Hospital and its surrounding streets witnessed tumultuous and protest-filled hours on Friday. Shortly after Mahsa Amini was pronounced dead, many women arrived to protest outside the hospital among the large number of police officers. The women were expressing their outrage over the death of the young woman. Eventually, the police violently detained some of the protesters.
Yesterday, Mehdi Foroozesh, the Director General of Medical Examiners in Tehran Province, spoke about handling Mahsa Amini’s case. According to him, a special commission for an investigation into the cause of Ms. Mahsa Amini’s death was formed at the first opportunity after the order of the Tehran Prosecutor, and preliminary measures for examining the victim before her death had been taken. He said, “With the order of the judicial authorities, a team of experienced specialists from the medical examiner’s office was formed, and the deceased was transferred to the dissection hall of the Tehran Province Diagnostic Laboratory for examination and autopsy.” In addition to widespread reactions to this issue, Ali Alghasi-Mehr, the Chief Prosecutor of Tehran, also stated that the public prosecutor’s office is following up on the case.
Aychi Cemetery, Aychi Plains
It was 6 p.m., and the sunset had spread over the sleeping rocks of the Aychi Plains. The freshly laid gravestone read, “Gina, you never die. Your name is our code name.”
The crowd dispersed, and the cemetery was empty, but 22-year-old Nadia stood by her mother over Gina’s grave. She said it could have been her. “We were the same age. They inflicted great sorrow. It feels like my sister has died, though I didn’t know her. Two years ago, I traveled to Tehran and was almost detained after an encounter with the morality police. My sister and brother-in-law pleaded until they let me get out of the car.”
With tears in her eyes, Nadia’s mother can’t imagine what Gina’s mother is going through. “Mahsa’s clothes met the government standards, and the poor girl died. I have two daughters, 22 and 26 years old. I swear to God that from Friday night, when they said Mahsa had died, I’ve been thinking about Mahsa’s mother. I can’t even imagine what I would do. I couldn’t come to the funeral in the morning, but I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I’m here now. There’s nothing anyone can do.”
Diako Alavi, one of the first men who shouted “Woman, Life, Freedom” during the funeral, stared at the pile of dirt at the Aychi Cemetery and said:
A lot of ground must be covered for men to understand and be aware that what is talked about as equality is not necessarily only in favor of women; rather, it brings happiness to all genders. I, as a man, am in a position where I have had many privileges and have not experienced what life is like for women. Achieving this understanding of equality does not come easily and takes time. It won’t happen unless everyone is equally affected by the discrimination and violence against women. An event like Gina’s death hurts people greatly.
Reclaiming the Denied Identity
After Gina’s burial, women began shouting that they no longer want to see any woman die like that. Leila Enayatzadeh, a women’s rights activist from Saqqez and a member of the Jivanu Association who has been addressing the issues of violence against women for several years, read a statement. “What happened to Mahsa Amini and to Shelir Rasouli—a rape victim who threw herself off the second floor of the assailant’s house in self-defense—is the result of a patriarchal culture that paves the way for our resentful reactions. There is no day when they don’t rub salt in our wounds. The children [of the authorities] must live abroad while ours lose their lives like this.” Later, she added, “We react to most news about women. The summary of the statement I read at Gina’s funeral was that we women want to live in this land. The support of men and women in all recent events has been remarkable. Now, the issue is that women’s problems are not just for women. In Mahsa’s case, men also showed comradery. They see our lived experiences with a violent system. We can’t say it only affects a woman, a man, or a person from Tehran or the provinces. All forms of violence must be addressed beyond gender and ethnicity.” She says in most countries in the world, the body is political, but in Iran, it is more. “The body is a battleground for political activism and a realm for resistance. A system that advocates for removing women from public spaces does not like this reality. The government tries to break this realm of resistance. This discourse seeks to push women into home spaces. The presence of the morality police is reclaiming this power from the female body and confiscating the body. They want women to appear in society according to their definition, so they increase pressure. Women say it’s not possible to confiscate our denied identity. Women are seeking to reclaim this denied identity. Women want to be seen as human and appear everywhere in society without fear.”
The Death of Mahsa Threatens the National Security
Jalil Rahimi Jahan-Abad, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, in an interview with Ham-Mihan, says, “There should be a truth-finding committee that will investigate the circumstances leading to the presence of the girl in the detention center, the reasons for her arrest, and what took place afterward with accurate documents, and present a report to the Parliament to decide.” According to him, a parliament is the house of a nation that must defend the rights of its citizens. “We recognize law enforcement as the judicial officer and regulator that must act within the framework of its authority according to the law. The Parliament must intervene where law enforcement or any other institution deviates. The Parliament must defend the rights of the people and enforce the popular will.”
Since this interview was conducted a few hours before the death of Mahsa Amini, Rahimi Jahan-Abad says he has spoken to the parliamentary deputy of the police force and requested to visit her. He has also called for further investigation by forensic medicine, saying, “I have requested him to provide all the documents and reports to be examined in the National Security Commission.” Rahimi Jahan-Abad, who believes what happened to Mahsa Amini a violation of people’s rights, adds, ‘Educating and guiding the people falls within the jurisdiction of the police, but arresting a young woman in public and delivering her almost lifeless body to her family is neither within the jurisdiction of the police force nor their right. My team monitors these issues and will not overlook people’s rights. The police must explain what has happened, and if similar incidents occur, the Parliament must stand strong against them and refer any violations to the judicial authorities.” He then points to the history of Iranian civilization and culture. He says, “Iran is recognized as a country with a rich cultural heritage, historical background, and religious beliefs in the Middle East. There is no need to treat our people in a way that pivots them against the system and law enforcement agencies. These are behaviors that have constantly made headlines around the world. The way this incident has easily garnered negative press coverage for Iran is worse than anything our foreign enemies with a big budget could do to the country.” He believes that hostile actions against ordinary citizens threaten the security and well-being of the people. “Having security is the right of the people, and this issue is of great importance both in terms of security and social aspects.”
Rahimi Jahan-Abad believes the Ministry of Interior should be held accountable but doubts that the Raisi administration is deliberately intensifying the situation. “Law enforcement and the Ministry of Interior should explain why such incidents occur repeatedly,” he says, “our reputation in the world is tarnished. Such scenes discourage foreigners from having relations with us or investing in our country: A mother begging morality police not to take her daughter because she is sick or a police vehicle driving into a crowd to harm and humiliate the people. These are the images that are associated with Iran. They isolate Iran economically, politically, and security-wise.”
Furthermore, he considers such actions contrary to national security and states that the law should reflect the people’s will. “A small group in the country cannot do whatever they want and not be accountable for threatening the people’s national interests, spirit, psyche, and peace. Representatives cannot be mere spectators to the violation of the people’s rights.”
Women Flee the Country
Parvaneh Salahshouri is a former member of Parliament and women’s rights activist who thinks the country’s current problems cannot be examined separately. “What happened to Mahsa Amini,” she begins,” has enraged people. For example, young women who are seeking a normal life are insulted and called names. We will lose focus if we examine societal issues on a micro level. But if we consider a holistic approach—an approach that follows the degradation of women that has no official or legal base—we will achieve better results. Discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and public affairs puts women under so much pressure that the demand for immigration increases. Salahshouri expresses her sadness about Mahsa Amini’s death and believes the issue should not be summarized by her death alone. “The morality police serve no other purpose than to create fear and cause terror. The civil rights of the citizens are questioned by a phenomenon called the morality police. This not only humiliates women but also humiliates families and men. It’s the daughters and wives of men who are dragged into police vans and taken to the so-called place of guidance.”
Salashouri emphasizes that detaining women, taking their photos, threatening them, penalizing them, and objectifying them do not solve anything. According to her, “the focus must be civil rights.” She recalls a time when she was in Parliament and says, “The police filed a lawsuit against me for objecting to the unlawful arrest of a young woman. Another lawsuit was for responding to the death of Sahar Khodayari, who self-immolated to protest the national ban on females attending sports events and entering stadiums. These cases show that violence against women has been happening before, but society is no longer tolerant.”
She ends by saying that even though officials have promised to address the issue, “the essence of the morality police is problematic. We must move towards a direction where there is no more morality police to degrade women, families, and citizens.”
