BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In Farsi, Iranian students at Lehigh University chant "Woman, Life, Freedom" to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman arrested by the Iranian morality police because her hair slipped out of her hijab.
Amini later died. The Iranian government says she died of a heart attack, but civil rights officials say she was beaten to death.
Since her death, Iranians have protested in the streets. More than a dozen protesters have been killed, and the internet has been shut down by the Iranian government.
Far from home, the students stand in solidarity with the protesters.
"We are here, the representatives of all women in Iran," said Ali, a Lehigh University student from Iran.
Ali, who didn't want to show his face or use his last name for fear his words might be used against his family in Iran, says he hasn't been able to reach them for a week.
"We are all worried for our families, our sisters our mothers in there, and it’s all because she was not wearing the appropriate scarf as told by the government. I just find this all very brutal, this is not the correct way to behave in the 21st century," Ali said.
The students say they hope that by speaking out and holding rallies like these, the world will pressure the Iranian government to put an end to the atrocities in their country.
