The Iranian regime's killing of a young woman for failing to cover her hair has sparked a global protest movement as enraged women tear off their own locks in solidarity.
Iranians have taken to the streets to demonstrate their fury and call for the fall of the clerical establishment after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of Tehran's nefarious and shady morality police.
They had seized Mahsa, a member of Iran's Kurdish minority, for "inappropriate attire" after she reportedly breached the state's harsh dress code, which states that an all-covering headscarf must be worn in public.
Unrest after her funeral spread through the country and through social media where supporters started lopping off their hair in support, while using the hashtag #HairForFreedom.
French actresses Marion Cottillard and Juliette Binoche were among the high-profile figures to join the movement.
Meanwhile, in Iran today clashes between protesters and security forces persisted.
Social media videos showed tanks being transported to Kurdish areas, which have been a focal point of the crackdown on protests over Mahsa's death in custody.
Protests calling for the fall of the clerical establishment have swept Iran since Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died on Sept. 16 while being detained by the morality police in Tehran for "inappropriate attire".
While observers do not believe the unrest, now in its fourth week, is close to toppling the government, the protests mark one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, with reports of strikes spreading to the vital energy sector.
The authorities are waging a deadly crackdown. Videos on social media showed trucks moving dark green tanks to Kurdish areas, raising the stakes in the revolt. Reuters could not verify the video footage.
Tensions have been especially high in Kurdish regions, given Amini's ethnic background. Human rights groups say Iran's Kurdish minority of more than 10 million has long been oppressed - a charge the Islamic Republic denies.
The Hengaw human rights group reported "intense conflict" on Tuesday between protesters and security forces in three cities in Kurdistan province: Sanandaj, Baneh and Saqez, where Amini was buried last month.
Protesters in Saqez set fire to a statue of local members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hengaw said.
In video footage shared on the widely followed Twitter account group Tavsir1500 from Sanandaj, shooting could be heard and women screaming. Reuters could not independently verify the footage from Hengaw or Tasvir1500.
At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by the security forces, according to rights groups. The government says more than 20 members of the security forces have been killed.
Iranian authorities have said they will investigate civilian deaths.
They have blamed the violence on an array of enemies, including armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents, with the Revolutionary Guards attacking their bases in neighbouring Iraq a number of times during the latest unrest.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi reiterated accusations that Iranian Kurdish dissident groups were supporting the protests and said security forces would "neutralize the desperate anti-revolutionary effort".
