The Explainer: Who is Mahsa Amini, and why has her death led to protests in Iran?

IRAN HAS BEEN gripped by protests following the death of a young woman after she was arrested by the country’s morality police ast month.

Mahsa Amini (22) was detained for wearing a hijab headscarf in an “improper” way on 13 September. Many Iranian women are now taking off their headscarves as part of demonstrations against the country in an act of defiance against the country’s strict laws on how people can dress.

Amini’s death sent shockwaves through Iranian society, led to a brutal crackdown by the country’s security forces, and captured attention worldwide.

We’re joined on this week’s episode of The Explainer by Dr Paola Rivetti, an associate professor in politics and international relations at DCU whose research interests focus on the government of societies and polities in the Middle East and on social and political mobilisations, to examine what exactly has happened over the past six weeks.

What exactly is driving so many people out in protest, who are the morality police, and is there anything different about these demonstrations compared to what we’ve seen before in Iran?

This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, and producers Aoife Barry and Nicky Ryan. Additional reporting by AFP.