Mahsa and Nika: How the Deaths of Two Young Women Exposed the Fragility and Fear of Iran's Authoritarian Regime

The protest movement "shook the Iranian regime to the core and further affirmed just how deeply disillusioned Iranians have been with the status quo", says Arash Azizi, author of a book titled "What Iranians Want", in response to the early tragic months of 2022. The deaths of two young women, Mahsa Amini and Nika Shakarami, had been taken under lethal circumstances linked to the brutal actions of Iran's security forces during a period of growing public uproar. The aftermath of their deaths quickly transcended individual tragedy, where outrage toward the government had already been flaring and torching sustained nationwide and international protests. This outrage quickly transcended into individual tragedy to become a powerful symbol of resistance against a regime that relies on fear and repression to maintain control. As a result, this paper explores how the targeting of Mahsa and Nika represents a broader pattern of state violence against women and youth in Iran, revealing the cruelty embedded in the nation's long history of authoritarian and overpowering regimes, by exploring the circumstances of their deaths–including the regime's response of using gendered violence. Often used as an instrument directly targeted at suppressing dissent, how paradoxically, such repression can highlight their fragility and fear.