“She was my best friend,” said the sister of Hadis Najafi, a young TikToker who has become a national symbol of resistance after being brutally gunned down in Iran’s protests.
The sister of Hadis Najafi, a 22-year-old woman who was killed byHadis was taking part in
Amini’s death at the hands of Iran’s “Guidance Patrol” on Sept. 16—after allegedly being severely beaten for breaking the country’s mandatory hijab laws—has sparked ongoing civil unrest throughout the country. More than 200 protesters have been killed in the demonstrations and riots so far after harsh government crackdowns, according to Iran Human Rights.Afsun Najafi
The day Hadis was killed was a blur, Afsun said. She told The Daily Beast that her sister went to the demonstration at around 7:30 p.m. local time. Just an hour and a half later, her family received a call from a hospital worker informing them that Hadis was injured. The family did not learn of her death until 3 a.m.Photo Illustration by Luis G.
“Iranian women do not have civil rights. We Iranian women do not want rules for our bodies,” a 42-year-old Iranian photographer, who has participated in the protests and has asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, told The Daily Beast. “Iranian women do not have the right to sing and dance in places where men are present. They have taken the least of freedoms from us, that is the right to choose our hijab.