Iranian Teenager Dies After Injury on Tehran Metro While Forgoing Hijab, Reports State Media

State media confirmed on Saturday the death of an Iranian teenage girl, Armita Geravand, who was previously injured in an unexplained occurrence on the Tehran Metro. At the time, she was not wearing the legally mandated headscarf or hijab.

Her death follows a period of coma in a Tehran hospital and comes after the one-year commemoration of the demise of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old whose death previously ignited widespread protests. Geravand’s injury on October 1, and now her passing, risk rekindling such public indignation, especially as the compulsory hijab law continues to be a point of dissent for women in Tehran and other regions.

Although the Iranian state-run news agency IRNA reported her death, it did not address the broader societal unrest associated with the nation’s hijab legislation.

The specific events leading to Geravand’s injury on October 1 remain unclear. A friend recounted to state television that she had hit her head on the station’s platform. However, video footage from outside the train car, obstructed by a bystander, does not provide clarity. Only seconds later, her lifeless body was removed from the scene.

While train compartments on the Tehran Metro are typically equipped with numerous CCTV cameras monitored by security staff, the state TV report did not include any interior footage and provided no rationale for its omission.

Statements by Geravand’s parents, featured in state media, suggest that her injury could have resulted from a blood pressure issue, a fall, or a combination of both. However, international activists claim that she may have been pushed or assaulted due to her lack of a hijab and have called for an independent investigation led by the United Nations, citing Iran’s history of coercion against victims’ families and its track record of airing forced confessions.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, an agency that tracks abuses in Iran’s Kurdish region, reiterated its demand for an impartial global investigation, accusing the Islamic Republic of obfuscating the truth.

The incident took place at the Meydan-E Shohada, or Martyrs’ Square, Metro station in southern Tehran. While rumors regarding the cause of her injuries proliferated, the state media report on her death remained silent on such speculations.

The IRNA’s report detailed that her death was a consequence of a sudden decline in blood pressure, leading to a fall, a traumatic brain injury, continuous convulsions, reduced cerebral oxygenation, and cerebral edema.

This incident occurs amid renewed international criticism of Iran’s treatment of women and its compulsory hijab law, and as lawmakers advocate for more stringent penalties for violations. Additionally, the timing coincides with the recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for her advocacy for women’s rights and democracy, an honor the Iranian government dismissed as politically motivated.

In Iran, the hijab serves as both a sign of devoutness and a political symbol, especially since its enforcement post the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Among countries globally, only Iran and the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan mandate the wearing of the hijab for women.

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More about Iranian Teenager’s Death and Mandatory Hijab Law

• Iranian State Media’s Official Report on Armita Geravand’s Death
• Hengaw Organization for Human Rights Official Statement
• United Nations’ Human Rights Policies on Iran
• Overview of Iran’s Mandatory Hijab Law
• Nobel Peace Prize Award to Narges Mohammadi
• Report on Mahsa Amini and Nationwide Protests
• International Criticism of Iran’s Treatment of Women
• CCTV Practices in Tehran Metro
• Public Opinion and Social Unrest in Iran
• Afghanistan’s Mandatory Hijab Law