Lawyers cut hair for Iran’s Amini in bar’s General Assembly

ISTANBUL

In solidarity with Mahsa Amini, whose death in Iranian custody sparked mass unrest, two lawyers cut their hair on Oct. 22 in the Istanbul Bar Association’s General Assembly convened to determine the new chair and administration.

During his speech, lawyer Selin Nakıpoğlu from the Principle First Revival Movement group cut her hair, saying, “I have to do this for Mahsa Amini, who has become the symbol of freedom and secularism for Iranian women.”

Iranian-origin lawyer Şerare Erfan, who took the stand after Nakıpoğlu, said, “I am the voice of Iranian women. I am with their just struggle,” and also cut her hair.

The bar, where four female candidates compete for the presidency, will be chaired by a female lawyer for the first time in its history if one of them is elected.

Principle First Contemporary Lawyers Group’s Filiz Saraç, Independent Lawyers Group’s Gülden Sönmez, Lawyer First Group’s Elif Görgülü and Young Lawyers Movement’s Türkan Kara will compete for the presidency of the Istanbul Bar Association, which was established in 1878 and is the world’s largest bar association with nearly 57,000 members.

Iran’s nationwide antigovernment protest movement first focused on the country’s mandatory hijab covering for women following Amiri’s death on Sept. 16.

Following Amiri’s death on Sept. 16, Iran’s nationwide antigovernment protest movement first focused on the hijab law, which made it mandatory for women to wear headscarves as part of the country’s dress code.

The demonstrations there have since transformed into the greatest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement over disputed elections.

According to human rights groups, Iran’s security forces have dispersed gatherings in their country with live ammunition and tear gas, killing over 200 people, including teenage girls.