SAN DIEGO — Hundreds of people carried signs and chanted as they walked from the House of Iran to the San Diego Art Museum in Balboa Park on Saturday. They are protesting in solidarity after the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini.
"I might tear up it's a very sensitive subject," Nasrin, Iranian American said.
Nasrin did not want to give her full name because she still fears the Iranian government despite leaving her country when she was a college student.
"They say ok well your hijab, your covering is not good enough, what the heck. She has big shawl, three yards long," Nasrin said.
Amini died last week while in custody after Tehran's morality police accused her of not wearing her head scarf properly. Her family was told she died from a heart attack but she had no known heart issues and her family says she was healthy.
"This is not the first time. I don't know when it's going to stop. It's been happening for the past 40 years," Nasrin said.
The hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women, has been mandatory in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
In the days following Amini's death street protests have turned deadly in Iran where protestors have burned headscarves and cut their hair. At Balboa park, San Diego police stood by but there was no violence, just frustration.
"This is really for freedom, freedom of choice, love in the world," Parviz Shemirani, Iranian American said.
And it was not just Iranians coming together. Keya Kressler is using this as a teachable moment for her 2-year-old son A.J. She wants him to grow up speaking up for what he believes in.
"I have many friends who are women who are tired of being persecuted for trying to live freely and seen as humans," said Kressler.
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