Mass demonstrations happening in Iran were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa "Jina" Amini, in a Tehran hospital on Sept. 16, two days after her arrest by Islamic Republic authorities for failing to properly cover her hair.
Hijab is mandatory in Iran and is enforced by "vice-and-virtue" squads. Iranian officials claim she suffered a heart attack, but witnesses at the police station and her relatives say Amini was severely beaten while she was in custody.
