On September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested and killed by Iran’s Islamic “Morality Police” for disobeying hijab-wearing rules.  Witnesses say Amini was seized by police, forced inside a vehicle, and beaten on the way to a detention center. 

This act is outrageous and most ironically, immoral.  A young woman is now dead because a group of morally corrupt men decided that she was a sinful miscreant. As with every state of affairs, misinformation is already flying. So, what are the Morality Police, how is the United States involved, and what should we do? 

The Morality Police are a branch of Iran’s law enforcement forces (LEF), and are responsible for enforcing Iranian dress code. This dress code is applicable for both men and women, however, the specifications on dress are exceedingly uncompromising for women. For example, their entire body must be covered by loose fitting clothing. The punishments for disobeying these rules can be a plethora of things depending on how significant the contravene was. You could be whipped 74 times, imprisoned for ten days to two months, or be required to pay a fine between 50,000 and 500,000 in rials. None of these policies claim that murdering someone is an appropriate response to breaking acceptable attire. 

After receiving the news of Mahas Amini’s death, The United States and its people were repulsed. How could a group of people kill an innocent individual for wearing a piece of cloth “incorrectly?” Jake Sulliven, a national security advisor for the United States, stressed “The United States is deeply concerned by this unforgivable and heinous act… We will continue to hold Iranian officials accountable for such human rights abuses.” On September 23rd, 2022, The United States government imposed economic sanctions on the Iranian Morality Police. 

This entire situation is abominable, though it is not new. From 2010-2014, over 8,000 women were murdered due to ‘honor killings.’ An honor killing is when a man, most often a close relative, believes a woman somehow brought ‘dishonor’ to her family. In an attempt to punish the women, the male relative will kill her. 

In my opinion, the worst part of this whole situation is that it has been happening for decades, and we always turn a blind eye. It is absolutely absurd that we, as a society, have not put our foot down to stop the slaughter of innocent women. Why should we let innocent women die just because they live in a different part of the world than we do? I think that the U.N. needs to step in and stop this brutality once and for all.