Women march against acid attacks in Iran

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Isfahan Wednesday to protest acid attacks against women.

Nearly 10 women have been doused with acid in the past several weeks, and Parliament earlier this week passed a new law intended to protect Iranians who try to correct or reform people they think are behaving in “un-Islamic” fashion.

The demonstrators called for the resignation of several city officials and protested what they say is an extreme law.

Like recent protests in Hong Kong, social media appears to have fueled the movement. But as the New York Times noted, such protests rarely occur in Iran because they are typically forcefully extinguished.

While President Hassan Rouhani has criticized the new law, conservative lawmakers, appalled by pushback against traditions that have long governed everything from dress to relationships, eagerly pushed it through Parliament.

Emily DeRuy is a Washington, D.C.-based associate editor, covering education, reproductive rights, and inequality. A San Francisco native, she enjoys Giants baseball and misses Philz terribly.