Protests in solidarity with Iran’s cry for women’s rights expose multifaceted bias
On September 16, Mahsa Amini died three days after being arrested and detained by Iran’s “morality police”. The death of the 22-year-old woman has sparked ongoing protests and demonstrations across the country that have since spread across the world.
Under Iran’s Islamic (sharia) law imposed after the 1979 revolution, it is mandatory for all women to wear hijabs and conservative, loose-fitting clothing that disguises the female figure. The “morality police” enforce the compulsory dress, and arrest or fine women who violate the country’s law, which must be followed by all women regardless of nationality or religion when in public. Amini was arrested for violating these laws, upon which she was taken to a detention centre where she received “training” on legal hijab dress.
Iranian authorities claim she died of a heart attack; while so far not permitted to see her body, witnesses and her family dispute that security forces beat Amini to death. Reports from the Associated Press indicate that her death was caused by “a fracture on her skull due to heavy blows to the head”.
Widespread international protests against the police, the regime and sharia law in defence of women’s rights have since taken place. Protests outside the Iranian Embassy in London on Sunday spread across the capital, and in some instances, clashes were seen between the police and protestors. A statement released by the Met Police said at least 5 officers had been injured, and 12 people were arrested on suspicion of “violent disorder”.
Media response to the London protests either balanced the importance of the protests following Amini’s devastating death while expressing regret for the isolated incidents that led to injury, or derided the protests altogether, rallying behind the police force in a subtle but unmistakable display of racial, geopolitical and misogynistic bias.
The Times view on the protests in Iran: Iranian Oppression
Violent protests hit London after Iranian woman ‘tortured to death’
- note the air quotes and the lead with violence, which is misleading: protests that have isolated incidents of violence are not the same as violent protests
Hundreds of protesters clash with riot police across London over death of woman, 22, arrested in Iran for breaking country’s hijab laws
- misleading – there were hundreds of protesters, but clashes were between an isolated number (note 12 people have been arrested), not the hundreds of people present
Five police wounded after being pelted with bricks during clashes with anti-Iran protesters in London
- it’s worth remembering these protests are not anti-Iran – they are anti-regime
- the Met Police statement made no mention of bricks
Five police seriously injured as Iran protests spread across London
Iranian embassy: Protestors clash with police in London
STREETS OF RAGE: Five police in hospital after they were pelted with bricks and bottles in violent clashes at anti-Iran demo in London
- again, it was a protest against Iran’s oppressive regime laws, not Iran
- again, no mention of bricks in the Met statement
- note the use of the word demo instead of protest
- despite leading with the angle of police injuries, 21 paragraphs in, this article – as do many of these – buries the fact that protestors were also injured, e.g. “As darkness fell, the protests spread to Maida Vale, where police were seen beating a demonstrator lying on the floor, as he attended a protest outside the Islamic Centre of England.”
Twelve arrested at London protests after death of Mahsa Amini in Iran
Protesters and police clash outside Iranian embassy in London amid outcry over Mahsa Amini’s death
