Anti-hijab protests spread across Iran; thousands in streets, internet curbed.
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Dubai: Anger is boiling over in Iran at the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police last week.
The protests, previously happening in northwestern regions, have been spread to at least 50 more cities, plunging the nation into chaos.
The uncontrollable protests at this scale for freedom is new to the nation with women in large numbers coming out onto streets, tearing away their veils, while confronting security forces.
It can be compared in size only to a wave of demonstrations in 2019 over gasoline price rises.
Reuters reported sourcing Iranian authorities and Kurdish rights group that death toll rose on Wednesday.
Sources say that four people were killed in the last two days raising the total deaths to eight since the protest started.
Kurdish rights group Hengaw reportedly said 10 protesters were killed—three on Wednesday, which added to seven people previously killed by security forces, according to the report.
Mahsa Amini and others were picked up by morality police in Tehran for "unsuitable attire" last week. Women in Iran have to follow strict dress code requiring them to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothes in public.
After Amini fell into a coma while in detention and died, her father said she had no health issues and that he held police responsible for the death. Police denied harming her, according to the report.
Her funeral on Saturday triggered protest initiated first by women which in days blew out of proportion spreading across the nation. Notably women came out onto the streets braving the severe crackdown by the security forces.
They voiced slogans, waving and burning their veils and some went on to cut their hair in public.
Sensing the vehement mood in the public, an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei paid condolences to Amini's family this week.
Authorities meanwhile put restrictions on internet especially access to Intagram, the major social media platform that millions of Iranians use.
It seems restrictions have been put on WhatsApp after users reported that they could only send text not pictures, according to Hengaw.....