When the ABC's Karishma Vyas began her excellent series of reports from Tehran, giving us a rare glimpse of the war from the other side, I thought I was seeing things. Unimaginable things.
There in the background, on the street and in markets, were women with their heads uncovered, defying the strict laws that became a deadly flashpoint in 2022 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
Twenty-two year-old Mahsa had been arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly and taken to a detention facility for "re-education". She collapsed after 26 minutes and was taken to hospital, where she died. A United Nations investigation found her death was the result of beatings, which the Iranian regime denied, claiming the young woman died from a pre-existing medical condition.
