Images Of Iranian Women Lighting Cigarettes With Khamenei's Photo Go Viral (PHOTO: X)
Iranian women have sparked a bold new protest that’s catching fire online and grabbing the world’s attention.
In these viral videos, you see women lighting up cigarettes with burning photos of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move that openly defies both the country’s political power and its deep-rooted religious authority.
It’s all over social media. Posts are flying around X, Instagram, Reddit, and Telegram, racking up thousands of shares.
People watching this unfold say it’s quickly turned into a striking symbol of defiance, and Iranian authorities can’t seem to keep up, no matter how hard they try to clamp down on dissent.
What makes this protest hit even harder is the double meaning. Burning the Supreme Leader’s image is a serious crime in Iran.
Add in the smoking, an act the government has long discouraged for women, and these protesters are rejecting both official power and the strict social codes that control women’s lives, from mandatory hijab rules to limits on their basic freedoms.
This wave of resistance isn’t happening in a vacuum. Iran’s economy is in trouble: inflation is out of control, the currency keeps losing value, and food prices just keep climbing. People are angry.
Protests are flaring up in cities all over, with demonstrators not just burning pictures of top leaders but also going after statues connected to the regime.
It’s all part of a bigger movement that grew after Mahsa Amini died in police custody back in 2022. While the government cracked down hard on big street protests, resistance hasn’t faded; it’s just gone digital. Symbolic acts like this can spread in seconds.
Even with government warnings, these videos keep popping up everywhere. The world is watching, and Iranian women are making sure their fight stays in the spotlight.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spoke on Friday while protests over the country’s economic struggles kept spreading. He didn’t hold back; he told the US President to worry about problems at home instead of meddling in Iran.
On Thursday, Iran basically went dark online. NetBlocks, a group that tracks internet access, said the blackout stretched into Friday. All this happened just as Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, called for more protests. He’s been living abroad ever since the 1979 revolution toppled his father.
The unrest started in Tehran, with shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar fed up with the plummeting value of the rial. Now, it’s not just them; mainly young men have joined in, a change from last year when women and girls led the charge.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency in the US, the protests have turned deadly: at least 34 protesters and four security officers were killed, and about 2,200 people were arrested. Analysts see all of this as a sign that frustration with Iran’s leadership runs deep.
From Maruti Suzuki To Toyota: These Car Makers Topped The Sales Charts In CY25
India’s car market grew in CY25, with Maruti Suzuki still leading, Mahindra gaining the most,…
The security forces have reacted with violence, and human rights organizations put the number of…
Ramesh Awasthi’s Son’s Wedding: Kanpur MP Proves That the Common Man Is the Biggest ‘VVIP’
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 8: Rising above caste boundaries despite being born into a…
