Once known as the Paris of the middle east, Tehran was an iconic city that bled fashion, culture, cuisine, and extraordinary hospitality. Since then, a haven of terroristic forces has taken over and now threatens the safety of the men and women who inhabit it. <\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/p> Long before protests spread like wildfire across Iran, the hijab, a headscarf that Iranian law requires women to wear, has stood as the symbol of the Islamic Republic’s oppressive power. The death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old woman, now named Forbes bravest woman of the year, was brutally beaten by the morality police while visiting her brother several weeks ago. This has ignited a fire in thousands of women’s hearts, demanding change from a government unwilling to abide. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/p> In early September, police claimed that Ms. Amini had suddenly collapsed from a heart attack while in custody during mandatory training on the hijab rules. But when a video of her in a coma, covered in bruises with blood dripping from her ear, went viral across social media platforms, it induced a fearless rage in women across the nation, leading to the largest mass political protest Iran has seen in years. The Iranian people bravely stand against these corrupt terroristic forces to regain their freedom. Since the Islamic Regime\u2019s rule, women have lost every fundamental human, civic and legal right, including the ability to divorce their husband unless he also agrees to release her. In the case of a divorce, women will also lose custody of their children, making it nearly impossible to leave their husbands. The citizens of Iran are not allowed to hold hands, dance in public or even own a dog.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/p> Seeing photos of women standing on top of cars, burning hijabs in the faces of their authorities, cutting their hair, and refusing to back down reveals that this revolution goes far beyond the injustice of compulsory hijabs. The chants, <\/span>“Zan. Zendegi. Azadi.”<\/span><\/i> meaning<\/span> “Woman. Life. Freedom.”<\/span><\/i> prove to the world that these women are not damsels in need of saving. They are survivors seeking solidarity and freedom from the oppression of the Islamic Regime that was stolen from them nearly 43 years ago. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n