Thread by @ksadjadpour

1 The Iranian regime’s brutal killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini—whose head was reportedly bludgeoned repeatedly against a wall after she was detained for showing too much hair—should permanently alter how foreign officials and reporters interact with Iranian officials #مهساامینی

2 In her recent 60 Minutes interview w/ President Raisi (here questioning the Holocaust), Leslie Stahl said “I was told how to dress, not to sit before he did, and not to interrupt him.” These terms are no longer acceptable; they legitimate discrimination

3 Compulsory hejab is one of the three ideological pillars of Iran's theocracy, along with 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'. Mahsa's case was not isolated. Numerous Iranian women are serving double-digit prison sentences for refusing to veil. amnesty.org.uk/actions/iran-w…

4 Compulsory hejab is but one example of Iran's structural gender discrimination. As we witnessed last summer with the return of the Taliban, the first thing Islamists do after taking power is subjugate women in the name of religion/culture:

5 Forced hejab also reflects a warped ideology that men are uncontrollable savages in the presence of unveiled women. To quote @khamenei_ir: “If we want to prevent our society from being plunged into corruption and turmoil, we should keep women in hijab.” english.khamenei.ir/news/1233/The-…

6 Khamenei's answer to #metoo was also compulsory hejab: "By introducing the hijab, Islam has shut the door on a path that would pull women towards such deviation.” This is the same ideology that blames female sexual assault victims for dressing immodestly

7 In his book "On Tyranny", historian Timothy Snyder notes the importance of resisting symbols of intolerance. "You might one day be offered an opportunity to display symbols of loyalty. Make sure that such symbols include your fellow citizens rather than exclude them."

8 Compulsory hejab is not culture, it is the most prominent symbol of the Islamic Republic of Iran's system of gender apartheid, and it is enforced with brutality.

9 Iranian women have been resisting this ideology for decades. Among the slogans of Iran's current protest movement is "Woman, Life, Freedom" (Zan, Zendegi, Azadi), the antithesis of a regime that subjugates women, celebrates martyrdom, and crushes freedom

10 Foreign officials and reporters--including at the UN this week--should cease legitimizing the violent, intolerant ideology of Iran's regime in the name of "respecting culture". Any culture that upholds the systemic abuse of its women deserves to die.