Mahsa Amini (; 21 September 1999 – 16 September 2022), also known as Jina Amini (), was an Iranian woman whose arrest in Tehran for opposing mandatory hijab and subsequent death in police custody sparked a wave of protests throughout Iran. People and governments around the world reacted widely to her death. Her death sparked widespread protest in Iranian society, resulting in major protests in various cities in Iran and acts of solidarity around the world. Amini's death ignited the global Woman, Life, Freedom movement. She and the movement were selected as candidates for the Sakharov Prize in 2023 by European Parliament for defending freedom and human rights.
Early life
Mahsa Jina Amini was born on 21 September 1999 to a Kurdish family in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, in northwestern Iran. While Mahsa was her legal given name (as only Persian names may be registered in Iran), her Kurdish name was Jina (also spelled Zhina), and was the name she was known as to her family. In Persian "Mahsa" means "similar to the moon" and in Kurdish, Jina means "life" or "a life-giving person". The government authorities changed the name on her birth certificate to Mahsa so that having a Kurdish name on official documents would not pose any issues, as was the practice two decades ago. As the times evolved, Kurdish names became widely accepted and both Jina and Mahsa remained.
Amini attended Hijab Secondary School, and in 2015, she would attend Taleghani High School to earn a diploma. She would be admitted to university in 2022. She aspired to become a doctor. Before starting university, she travelled to Tehran with her parents and 17-year-old brother, Ashkan, to visit relatives.
Family
Her mother was an active member of the Parents and Teachers Association for three years in Shahrak Elementary School, Hijab Secondary School and Taleghani High School. She had one younger brother, Kiarash (Ashkan). Her father, Amjad Amini, is an employee in a government organization and her mother, Mojgan Amini, is a housewife. She had several cousins, some of which lived in different countries. One of them was Erfan Mortezaei, a left-wing political activist belonging to the Komala Party and a Peshmerga fighter living in self-exile in Iraqi Kurdistan, who was the first member of Amini's family to speak to the media after her death. Despite Mortezaei's political affiliations, he has debunked claims by the Iranian government that Amini herself was involved in any politics. Instead, Amini has been described as having been a “shy, reserved resident” of her hometown who avoided politics, with Amini being reported as never being politically active as a teenager, and as not being an activist. Another cousin, Dyako Mohammadi, lives in Norway and spoke to media there about Amini. Amini's family have described her as having no prior health conditions, and as being a "healthy" 22 year old, contrasting the claims made by the Iranian government that she possessed prior health conditions. Her uncle Safa was arrested a few days before her death anniversary.
Perspectives and personality
According to those who knew her closely, Mahsa Amini was quiet, reserved and treated everyone around her with a kind of old-school politeness. She avoided politics and activism, and did not follow the news. She did not have many friends and mostly socialized with her relatives. Mohammadi was a literature teacher at Hijab school where Jina pursued her middle education. Mohammadi once said to Jina's mother, "Mojgan, take care of this child; she's incredibly genteel". Her teachers described her as a quiet girl, suggesting she should be a bit more playful. Her brother, Ashkan, was more mischievous, while she was gentler. Despite their small age difference, they rarely got upset to the point of anger. She wished to become a doctor. When she was a child, she held her father's hand and accompanied him to the market to buy a white coat for her. When she couldn't find one in her small size, she purchased white fabric for her mother to sew. She also acquired a stethoscope toy. She arranged her dolls in the room, examining and prescribing treatments for them. Mozhgan, her mother, would knock on the room's door and ask, "May I have an appointment, Dr.?" or "Can I be your patient darling?". At school, she was cherished by her classmates and admired by her teachers as a model student.