Weeks after ‘attack’ on train for not wearing hijab, Iranian teenager dies

Dubai, October 28

An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on Tehran’s metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, state media reported Saturday.

The death of Armita Geravand comes after her being in a coma for weeks in Tehran and after the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini which sparked nationwide protests at the time.

Dress code

• Armita Geravand had been in coma for weeks after sustaining injuries in an alleged assault over hijab on October 1
• The incident threatens to reignite the anger which erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini last year

Geravand’s October 1 injury and now her death threaten to reignite that popular anger, particularly as women in Tehran and elsewhere still defy Iran’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law as a sign of their discontent with Iran’s theocracy.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Geravand’s death, without noting the wider unrest surrounding the headscarf law.

What happened in the few seconds after Armita Geravand entered the train on October 1 remains in question. While a friend said she hit her head on the station’s platform, a soundless footage from outside of the train is blocked by a bystander. Just seconds later, her limp body is carried off.

Geravand’s parents appeared in state media footage saying a blood pressure issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughter’s injury.

Activists abroad have alleged Geravand may have been pushed or attacked for not wearing the hijab. They also demanded an independent investigation by the United Nations’ fact-finding mission on Iran, citing the theocracy’s use of pressure on victims’ families and state TV’s history of airing hundreds of coerced confessions. — AP