Shutting down the internet is another brutal blow against women by the Iranian regime | Azadeh Akbari

Decades of activism led to mass protests against Mahsa Amini's death. Free access to the web has to be a priority now

Woman, life, freedom. These are the words being used repeatedly in Iranian social media posts and carried on banners in the current demonstrations across the country. Three words that may have been a poetic combination in any other context, but not for the women who pay the price of their freedom with their lives. The death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, after being detained by the morality police for her improper hijab" has sparked widespread anger, leading to the deaths of at least 41 others.

The collective fury pouring out on to the streets is a result of decades of oppression against women in Iran. If George Floyd's killing highlighted the structural racism prevalent in US society, and Mohamed Bouazizi's suicide in Tunisia paved the way for the arrival of an unforeseen Arab spring across the region, Amini's death has led to the bursting open of 44 years of Iranian women's struggle against unjust laws and lack of control over their bodies and sexuality.

Azadeh Akbari is assistant professor in public administration and digital transformation at the University of Twente in the Netherlands