A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic's morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on Sept. 20, 2022.
Roughly one year ago, the death of a young Kurdish Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini in police custody lit the fuse that would set off months of protests that rocked Iran and its hardline government, creating the greatest challenge to its rule in decades.
Amini, just 22 years old, was arrested for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, the headscarf women are required to wear under Iran's highly conservative Islamic Republic.
Iranian authorities claimed no wrongdoing and said Amini died of a heart attack; but her family, and masses of Iranians, accused the government of a cover-up.
The protests spread across the country and evolved from being focused on women's rights to demanding the downfall of the entire Iranian regime.
Persons:
Mahsa, Amini, Behnam ben Taleblu
Organizations:
Islamic, Foundation for Defense, Democracies, CNBC
Locations:
Iranian, Tehran, Istanbul, Kurdish Iranian, Iran, Islamic Republic