On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini was killed by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s “Morality Police” for wearing her headscarf improperly, an illegal offense in the country with a history of oppressing its citizen’s human rights, particularly womens’ under the name of Islamic Law. It was the last straw that broke the camel’s back when it came to decades of system oppression.

Revolutionary marches and protests erupted throughout Iran and in cities around the world, but attendance beyond the Iranian diaspora was glaringly missing. The singular ask from the people of Iran to the global community has been to amplify Iranian voices to keep the pressure on the government.

As a fierce advocate for women’s rights since 1987, the YWCA was compelled to answer this call. As the revolution dragged on, and media cycles passed, interest was waning. We would need to do something unique to recapture the public’s attention.

Hair was the reason Mahsa Amini lost her life. Hair sparked the largest revolution led by women. So, it only made sense that hair become the medium to rally Canadians, reignite their outrage, and amplify our message.

We created a life-size, interactive banner that invited people to cut a lock of their hair and fasten it to spell out the rallying slogan: WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM.

The banner was toured to protests in different cities around Canada, bearing locks of hair of women from around the country