Two-year anniversary of the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran

Philip Loft

In September 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was arrested by Iran’s Gashte Ershad (guidance patrol, widely referred to as the ‘morality police’) for allegedly not complying with the country’s Islamic dress code, under which women must wear a headscarf in public places.

Three days later, she died in police custody, prompting widespread protests. Iranian officials deny she was beaten by police and say she died of natural causes.

Iran has continued to enforce its dress laws in the two years since Mahsa Amini’s death. However, Iran’s new President, who took office in July 2024, has indicated that he does not approve of the use of force to impose the dress code.

Iranian government response to the protests

Mahsa Amini’s death triggered widespread protests that continued into January 2023.

Following the protests, a UN Fact Finding Mission on Iran was established. In March 2024, the mission reported that 551 protesters had been killed by security forces (including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) during the protests. This was the highest number killed in any protest in Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

The non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch has also reported that some family members of protesters have been arrested, threatened or harassed as a means to “silence and punish” those seeking accountability.

Iran’s own report on the protests says authorities acted “responsibly”. It said that 202 protesters died during the demonstrations. It added that 90 of these protesters were “carrying and using weapons” and the remainder were passers-by “killed by armed terrorists to create negative propaganda” against Iran.

In 2023, the Iranian Government announced that 22,000 people had been pardoned in connection with the protests. The UN Fact-Finding Mission said it understood that the individuals were first required to “express remorse”.

An increased use of the death penalty

Human rights groups describe a continuing climate of repression: the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights argues the death penalty is currently being used to “instil societal fear”.

The group estimates that the number of executions carried out in Iran rose from 815 in the two years before September 2022 to 1,425 in the two years since (official announcements give lower figures).

Amnesty International reported that 10 people have been executed in relation to the 2022/23 protests, with the most recent execution in August 2024. It says these executions were carried out after “grossly unfair sham trials” and believes a further 12 people remain at risk of execution or being sentenced to death. It also says that individuals from minority groups such as the Baluchi and Sunni Kurds are disproportionately subjected to the death penalty.

Current status of hijab laws

Since shortly after the 1979 revolution, it has been compulsory for women to wear a headscarf in public places under Iran’s hijab laws.

While Iranian authorities initially suggested they might lessen the enforcement of hijab laws following the 2022 protests, Iran’s morality police resumed patrols in July 2023 after a 10-month gap.

The UN Fact Finding Mission is currently investigating the death of Armita Geravand (PDF), who died after an alleged assault by the morality police in October 2023 (Iranian authorities say she died from a fall) and the shooting of Arezoo Badri in July 2024 (PDF) (Iranian authorities say the incident was unrelated to hijab enforcement).

New legislation, the “Hijab and Chasity” bill, has been passed by the Iranian Parliament but is still awaiting approval by Iran’s Guardian Council (an appointed council of experts in Islamic law who can veto any legislation). The bill’s penalties for not wearing the headscarf include imprisonment for up to three years.

In September 2024, the UN Fact-Finding Mission judged that the bill was “likely to be finalised imminently” .

A possible change in direction under the new President

The new Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, took office in July 2024. During the election campaign, he said the hijab could not be imposed forcefully. On taking office, Pezeshkian appointed Iran’s second female minister, and the first Sunni Kurd, to the cabinet since the revolution of 1979.

In September 2024, in response to a question from a female journalist in Iran on the ‘morality police’, the President said “the morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don’t bother [them]”.

Hijab enforcement has continued since Pezeshkian took office.

UK commitment to act on rights violations

In August 2024, Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer criticised the “unacceptable behaviour” of the Iranian police following reports that Arezoo Badri had been shot for not wearing a hijab.

In a joint statement with the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States in September 2024, the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, urged an end to human rights violations in Iran and:

Call[ed] on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease pressure on civil society in Iran and to end the use of force to enforce the hijab requirement.

The joint statement said all five countries would “act in lockstep to hold the Iranian government accountable”, including through visa restrictions and sanctions.

No new restrictions were announced by the UK alongside the joint statement. The UK sanctioned the ‘morality police’ in 2022.

The Iranian foreign ministry criticised the joint statement as an act of “interference” in Iran’s internal affairs.

New and potential human rights sanctions against Iran

The UK introduced a new sanctions regime against Iran in 2023.

This added criteria under which the UK can sanction Iranian individuals and organisations, including to “secure the human rights of persons in Iran without discrimination”.

The UK currently sanctions over 400 Iranian individuals and entities for human rights abuses and nuclear proliferation. This includes sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety.