Getting hairy in Iran
Edition 72
Happy Sunday,
In the last week, a new symbol of the fight against women’s oppression emerged, like a phoenix from ashes of her death.
A symbol is born
When Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in Iran stepped out of her home, she probably didn’t even realise her headscarf had slipped a little. She probably didn’t think a little slip of the fabric, would cause her death. It did.
She also probably didn’t think she’d ever become the catalyst for potentially irrevocably damaging a regime that has clung to power since 1979. She has.
In death, Mahsa may have become the leader for change in Iran. That will forever be her legacy.
As of this weekend - Protests across the country are getting uglier. The country’s morality police are under fire, as is the regime that controls it. The Iranian government is clamping down (and hard!). News reports estimate between 35-50 people are already dead across the country. Including other young women.
Across Iran, women are burning headscarves on the street. They are even shaving their heads and posting it on TikTok. Well, that was what we knew until the internet in Iran was taken offline. It now seems Elon Musk has been greenlit by the U.S. government (sanctions!) to activate SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink (which he also gave to the Ukrainians) to help Iranians protesting their regime.
The world is now watching — to see if a hard-line regime can be brought down by pushing women just a bit too far.
What happened?
On September 13th, Mahsa was at a metro station in Tehran with her brother. She was arrested for violating moral laws obliging women to completely cover their hair and arms. She subsequently fell into a coma while in custody and died on September 16th, after being hospitalized. Her brother claims she was beaten by the morality police, as was he.
He said, she said!
Iran’s official coroner’s report claims Mahsa died of a heart attack or a stroke (kind of them to offer two options!) when in custody. The report vehemently denies (as does the regime) she was tortured, beaten or died of a head injury, as claimed by her family. They are instead claiming pre-existing conditions as the cause of the custodial death.
“Ms Amini had brain surgery at the age of eight,” according to the Director General of Forensic Medicine in Tehran. His statement also says: “Concerning the misleading information about blood coming out of Amini's ears and a fracture at the base of her skull, we, forensic doctors, confirm that there are no signs of bruising or swelling on her eye and no fracture in her skull either.”
Her father vehemently disagrees. “They are lying. She has not been to any hospital at all in the past 22 years, other than for a few cold-related sicknesses. She never had any medical conditions, she never had surgery.”
Mr. Amini is firm in his belief that Iran’s religious leaders are ultimately responsible for her death. In a video that has since gone viral - he refused to allow a mullah to perform Islamic funeral rites for his daughter’s body.
“Your Islam denounced her, now you’ve come to pray over her? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You killed her for two strands of hair! Take your Islam and go.”
A family under pressure
Mr. Amini though hasn’t been vocally supportive of the protests raging across 12 cities in Iran, in his daughter’s name. To understand the level of pressure the family is being subjected to denounce and shut them down just take a look at what The Guardian highlights in its story:
Mahsa’s cousin Erfan Mortezaei claims, the family is under pressure to publicly back the regime’s version of events. The paper reports Mahsa’s 17-year-old nephew for example was arrested for going to a news agency, and subsequently released on a 500m toman (US$16,000) bail. Per Erfan, “The goal of this pressure, is to obtain a forced statement from Mahsa’s family in view of stopping the nationwide protests.”
Iran’s hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi in the meantime says he had ordered the incident to be investigated carefully, saying to the family: “Your daughter is like my own daughter, and I feel that this incident happened to one of my loved ones. Please accept my condolences.” — But, that very same empathy seemed to be non-existent when he promptly refused to sit down for an interview with CNN’s Christian Amanpour unless she wear a headscarf.
Why and how it’s important
To understand how the battle women in Iran are fighting today, relates to the power of the ayatollahs, please do read Roya Hakakian’s fantastic and enlightening piece in the Atlantic, The Bonfire of the Headscarves.
Keeping tabs
At the time of writing this weekend’s Brief - Protests are still raging. You can also keep up with all that’s happening on social media with the #MahsaAmini or #مهسا_امینی
In other news
Not a budget
U.K Prime Minister Liz Truss believes in her very own version of ‘trickle down economics’ and her Chancellor Kawsi Kwarteng’s “mini-budget” has seemingly delivered it.
The biggest tax cut plan in 50 years, with the removal of banker bonuses should have executives in the City of London smiling ear to ear - but the market’s reaction to the budget suggests, even they think this is a gamble that will have to be walked back and fast.
One particular executive texted me his descriptor (& he should know, he’s been handling Emerging Markets for the biggest names for decades!): ‘Kwasi budget, Kwasi pound!’ I had to hand it to him for his copywriting!
The Financial Times sat down with the new man running the U.K’s finances to understand his strategy as the Great British Pound sank, well on its way to parity with the U.S. Dollar. It’s a doozy of a read!
First female Arab astronaut
A Saudi woman is about to become the world's first female Arab astronaut. Her identity hasn’t been disclosed as yet, but she will be part of Saudi Arabia's mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next year, aboard a SpaceX capsule.
Axiom Space, a private space infrastructure company based in the U.S is organising the mission in 2023, which will be it’s second to the ISS. The female astronaut along with another Saudi and two Americans now await approval from the NASA chaired panel of partners of the ISS. Once approved, we’ll know who the first female Arab astronaut will be!
Brazilian women have had it
They’re so done with President Jair Bolsonaro, that a record number of indigenous women are running for Brazil’s Congress.
In their fight against the Bolsanaro supported illegal logging and beef industry contributing to the decimation of the Amazon — 60 indigenous leaders have registered to run for elections. More than half, 31 to be precise, are women.
More power to women like Sonia Guajajara, head of Brazil's main indigenous umbrella organization, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and others like her!
A little note
This Sunday morning, I’m on my way to hang with the BMW Foundation folks in Munich where the founders festival, Bits and Pretzel is kicking off! I’m so excited to meet all the amazing people solving for the biggest crisis we are facing in the world - climate change. And the ones looking to do more - Regenerate the planet!
Next weekend, I’m going to give you a wrap up of the amazing women I’ve met from across sectors and across the world for whom the SDGs and the planet are central to all they do! Till then, have an amazing week!