Mural dedicated to Mahsa Amini painted on Toronto building

A new edition to the building at 420 Parliament Street, a mural of Mahsa Amini, is just one of many popping up around the globe as the revolution ignited by Amini’s death continues.

It’s been nearly two months since nationwide protests first erupted over the Sept. 16, 2022, death of 22-year-old Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. She was detained for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.

Although the protests first focused on Iran’s mandatory headscarf or hijab, they have become one of the most significant challenges to the ruling clerics since the muddled years following the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Protests have been happening worldwide, including record-setting rallies in Toronto.

The new art was created by Toronto-based artist Jasmine Dearden. She tells CityNews that Mahsa is a perfect example of a fearless and courageous woman.

“She has sparked so much bravery, and I hope this will create more acts of bravery,” Dearden said.

“We chose an eagle with Mahsa inside the eagle because the eagle represents courage and strength and hope, so I thought that was the perfect symbolism for what’s happening, and we chose [for it] to go to the right because we wanted to go to the right direction.”

A QR code at the bottom of the mural can be scanned, and an image of an eagle will fly by.

Valentino Farzad Arbabi, who commissioned the mural from Dearden, is from Iran but now lives in Toronto. He passed by Dearden while she was creating a mural of a recognizable female musical artist.

“I saw Jasmine doing Alicia Keys, and she’s done an amazing mural, and then I asked her, ‘Are you able to do a mural for Mahsa for the Iranian movement?’ and she agreed,” said Arbabi.

“I was 16 years old. My parents had to send me to Germany because I got beaten up by the morality police in Tehran,” shared Arbabi. “They were looking for me for two days. They closed down the street, and that was it for me, so I had to leave, and this is a small contribution to show how much we are frustrated with this government,” he added.

Dearden is currently working with Los Angeles-based artist Cloe Hakakian who has asked other artists worldwide to create these murals of Amini.

“We hope our murals will make some noise and speak for the women in Iran because they’re being silenced.”