Iran has been rocked by more than two weeks of protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, after she was arrested by Iran's morality police for not adhering to the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.

She was sent to a "re-education center" and died in hospital three days later. The government has argued that Amini died of a "sudden heart attack," but her family said she had no illness and believes she was murdered. Since the shocking incident, from the Middle East to Europe and the United States, people have marched to protest in solidarity.

During these weeks, hundreds of women have filmed themselves cutting their hair. What is the meaning?

For many Iranian women, hair is a sign of beauty that must be covered with the hijab in the Islamic Republic. "Cutting your hair is a meaningful form of protest," one journalist told Euronews.

"In Iran's history, when women did not have enough strength to stand up, they cut their hair," he continues. "It has always been a symbol of rebellion and starting a war."

Indeed, cutting hair is a symbol of protest and mourning, dating back to the Persian poet Ferdowsi's epic Shahnameh, one of the world's longest epic poems. In the lines of the poem, hair is seen as a recurring motif and is often plucked or cut to signify mourning or loss.

Source: Euronews Culture