On Sep. 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died while in custody of Iran’s morality police.

She was arrested three days prior and was accused of wearing her hijab improperly, which is government-mandated. Though Iranian authorities stated she died as a result of a heart attack, various eyewitnesses say she was severely beaten while detained, resulting in her death.

One year later, on Sep. 14, Fresno community members gathered in the Satellite Student Union to commemorate the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s passing as well as the ‘Women, Life, Freedom Movement,’ a social movement aimed to show support for Iranian women.

“The event was to honor all those young people who were killed by the Iranian regime, or blinded, imprisoned or maimed by the regime for peacefully protesting and simply asking for basic human rights,” said Dr. Mehdi Ghajar, a local ophthalmologist, organizer and speaker at the event.

Ghajar said that at least 20,000 to 30,000 people have been imprisoned, and 500 to 1,000 have been killed in the streets and inside the detention centers of the regime, with the vast majority being under the age of 30.

At the Mahsa Day event, there were various speakers, musicians and performers who honored Mahsa Amini and the others who suffered for the movement.

A Fresno State student who chose to remain anonymous spoke at the event and emphasized the importance of Mahsa Day as it is not only a commemoration but a story that connects all people who deserve basic rights.

“We all are in this together and can’t close our eyes and ignore what’s happening in Iran,” the student said. “This event highlighted the critical points of crimes in Iran and how young school-age kids and college students get imprisoned, tortured and killed by the Islamic regime just because they stand up for their fundamental human rights. How can we ignore that?”

The student further expressed how crucial it is that all citizens stay involved in government affairs outside of the United States, as it is the U.S. government that has negotiated and offered privileges to the Iranian government, instead of standing with the country’s people themselves. One way the student said this is possible is through more accurate media coverage.

“Iranian people have limited access to the internet, and the streets of Iran look like a war zone, full of tanks and heavily armed soldiers and guards preparing to kill their people. [It is] a war of the Islamic regime against the Iranian people,” the student told The Collegian.

Mary Husain, a Media, Communications and Journalism lecturer at Fresno State, invited her students to attend the Mahsa Day event. She said that not many of them know of what is happening in Iran or many other political situations outside of their own community.

“It’s important to raise global awareness,” Husain said. “That’s the first step in implementing change, to be aware of what’s going on in other parts of the world.”
Jennifer-Juliette Riojas, a Fresno State student in the MCJ department, said she didn’t know anything about Mahsa Amini before the event and learned much from her time in attendance.

“I took away that I am very lucky to live the life that I do. While not every day is a good day, there are so many women who have it way worse,” Riojas said.

Riojas said that events like Mahsa Day are important to have on campus because they help to keep students aware of what is going on in the world.

“If I hadn’t attended this event I would not know who Mahsa Amini is and her importance to Iranian history as well as her importance to Iranian women’s rights,” Riojas said.