Thousands attend govt-backed hijab rallies in Iran

 

 PARIS:Following a week of bloody protests over the death of a woman arrested for "improperly" wearing the headscarf, thousands demonstrated across Iran on Friday at government-backed pro-hijab counter rallies.

Since the death last week of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd who had spent three days in a coma after being detained by the "morality police," Iran has been rocked by street violence.


The official death toll from the clashes remains at 17, including five security personnel, but the New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) put it at 36 and predicted that it would rise.


As part of the crackdown, Iran has imposed strict internet restrictions in an attempt to stymie protests and prevent images of the backlash from reaching the outside world.
Thousands marched in support of the hijab and a conservative dress code at government-backed schools on Friday. Counter-protests were held in Tehran and other cities such as Ahvaz, Isfahan, Qom, and Tabriz. 

"Today, the Iranian people held a large demonstration condemning the conspirators and sacrileges against religion," Iran's Mehr news agency reported.


State television aired footage of pro-hijab demonstrators in central Tehran, many of whom were men, but there were also women wearing black chadors. 

Overnight clashes

Amini died on September 16, three days after being hospitalised after being arrested by the morality police, a unit in charge of enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women.


Activists claim she was beaten in custody, but this has not been confirmed by Iranian authorities, who have launched an investigation.


After she was declared dead, angry protests erupted in major cities such as the capital, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tabriz.


According to the Oslo-based Kurdish rights group Hengaw, police fired "semi-heavy weapons" at demonstrators during overnight clashes in the northern city of Oshnaviyeh.
Demonstrators were seen setting fire to a large billboard depicting Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in nearby Babol.