Mahsa Amini's legacy, four years after her murder by Iran's morality police - editorial

Four years after Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody, the Jerusalem Post editorial examines her enduring legacy. A general strike marked the anniversary in Kurdish regions, with shuttered shops and security deployments. While the regime crushed the 2022 protests, women increasingly defy the hijab mandate in public. The piece warns against reducing the movement to the hijab issue, noting ongoing repression, executions, and a new generation shaped by the uprising.

Four years after Mahsa Amini's death at the hands of Iran's morality police, the Jerusalem Post editorial examines her enduring legacy. On Wednesday, the anniversary was marked by a general strike across Kurdish regions, with shuttered shops in Saqqez, Sanandaj, and Kamyaran. Security forces were deployed and routes to Aichi Cemetery were blocked. Four Kurdish political prisoners announced a hunger strike. The editorial notes that while the 2022 protests were brutally crushed with hundreds killed and thousands arrested, Iranian society has not emerged unchanged. Women in Tehran and other cities increasingly appear without the mandatory hijab in public spaces, despite continued enforcement through arrests, surveillance cameras, and vehicle seizures. The piece warns against reducing the movement to the hijab issue, quoting activist Yasser Fattahi, whose father was killed during the protests. Earlier this year, another wave of protests left at least 40,000 reported dead. A new generation of young Iranians has been shaped by the events following Amini's death. The shuttered shops in her hometown demonstrate that four years later, Amini remains a powerful symbol of the freedoms many Iranians still demand.