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Protesters block a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, during the ongoing protests over the death of a woman in her 20s who was detained by the morality police. (AP/Yonhap)

Editor’s note: Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 16, at the hands of Iran’s morality police, who deemed she wasn’t wearing her hijab properly. When doctors who had reviewed her treatment records raised the possibility that she’d been beaten to death, the women of Iran were enraged. The very next day, anti-government protests coalesced under the slogan of “women, life, freedom.” Those protests are now in their second month.

So far, more than 200 people have died in those protests, and everyone from middle and high schoolers to people who lived through the Islamic Revolution in 1979 has taken to the streets. Why are these women continuing these protests like courageous lionesses?

Koo Gi Yeon, a research professor at the Seoul National University Asia Center who studies the younger generation in Iran, posed that question to the women taking part in the protests. Here are the answers provided by one such “lioness of Tehran” who has taken part in the protests.

“An association of bazaar merchants and a national association of small business owners are planning large-scale protests around the country at 11 am today [Saturday, Oct. 8]. In case something happens, I’m preparing food and medicine to hand out to the protesters. Who knows how many more lives will be lost… Please pray for peace in Iran. I’m rushing to send you this message because I can’t connect to the internet in Iran until after 2 am.”

I received this urgent message from Mariam (a pseudonym), a homemaker in her late 40s living in Tehran, the capital of Iran. The Stories on her Instagram account, which disappear after 24 hours, are full of posts related to the protests. If she connects to a virtual private network (VPN) in the early hours of the morning, she’s briefly available to evade the Iranian government’s internet controls.

Iranians have posted short videos, photographs and thoughts on Instagram Stories, rather than posts, to avoid censorship and tracking. Mariam herself recently posted a photograph showing the tragic death of a 14-year-old boy along with a message of sympathy.

Mariam had been living a normal life, enjoying financial stability thanks to her husband’s business in a bazaar in Tehran and taking pride in the academic ability of her son and daughter. But recent events have turned her into a dedicated supporter of the protests.

As soon as the protests began one month ago, Mariam and her family began opening the gate on the first floor of her building — located near Enqelab (Revolution) Square, where the protests are generally held — to give protesters a place to take shelter. Every night, they would prepare simple meals, water and first-aid kits for the protesters.

Mariam also learned how to provide emergency medical care for wounded protesters, who couldn’t go to the hospital for fear of being apprehended. She sent the international press video footage from her building’s security cameras showing protesters taking refuge and security forces shattering windows with long truncheons.

At 2:30 am on Oct. 9 (8 am Korean time), I asked Mariam through a message on WhatsApp whether I could give her a call. When she answered my call on WhatsApp, I could hear her weeping.

“My husband nearly got shot. There was bloodshed in bazaars around the country today. Bullets fired by the security forces are lodged in the wall of our second-floor office. We came very close to dying,” she said.

She passionately explained why unarmed Iranian citizens have no choice but to take to the streets despite the dangers doing so entails.

“We know all too well that we can’t expect dramatic change from this regime. But we can’t force our children to live in this world any longer. Why do our children have to live without freedom, as slaves to this regime? The people here worry every day about how to put food on the table. They can’t afford to buy bread. Living like this is no different from dying in our struggle. We can’t stop this fight.”

As Mariam’s words suggest, the people who are taking part in the current protests in Iran know they aren’t likely to end positively. They’re also well aware that the current regime won’t back down easily.

But I’m sure that the anger and the aspirations of Iranians who long for freedom, peace and, above all, human rights will overcome their terror and fear.

Once again, they chant their slogan to each other: “Irani mimirad, zelat nemipazirad! We may die, but we won’t submit!”

By Koo Gi Yeon, research professor at Seoul National University Asia Center

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]