On September 16, Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman, died after three days in a coma. According to medical reports, the 22-year-old's coma was induced by severe head trauma she suffered after being detained by police in the northwestern Iranian city of Saqez. She had been arrested for allegedly failing to comply with Iran's strict laws requiring women to wear the hijab and be fully covered by loose clothing.

The morality police who arrested Amini claimed that she collapsed at the police station due to a heart attack, but her family insists that she did not have any pre-existing condition that would cause a heart attack. Furthermore, witnesses and Iranian medical personnel flatly deny these claims, explaining that Amini's fatal injuries were caused by internal bleeding consistent with trauma from a severe beating.

After Amini's death, protesters gathered in front of the hospital where she was admitted. Led primarily by women but supported by people of all genders, these protests have seen Iranian women, in particular, openly burning their hijabs and cutting their hair in solidarity with Amini. This movement is the most significant internal threat to Iran's rigid regime in decades, and it remains to be seen whether this widespread condemnation of government policies will have a lasting impact on women's rights in Iran.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government claims that 17 people were killed in the course of the protests, but the New York-based Iranian Center for Human Rights puts the figure at 36. Iranian police and militias have responded to the demonstrations not only by firing directly at protesters, but also by blocking the Internet in order to limit the extent to which protesters can communicate with each other and with the outside world.

In 1979, Iran experienced the so-called Islamic Revolution. This popular uprising overthrew Iran's Pahlavi regime, which was supported by the CIA and MI6. The revolution honed in on the mixing of church and state by imposing laws prohibiting "anti-Islamic" behavior such as drinking and women exposing their hair, while investing in the nationalization of Iran's oil production and other economic ventures. This strict interpretation of the Koran and Sharia law is only an interpretation and not universally agreed upon among Muslims inside and outside Iran.

Iran's strict laws put women in particular at risk. Iranian girls as young as 13 can be "provisionally married" to men against their will, they cannot travel without permission from their husbands or fathers, and violence against women in Iran carries only lighter penalties than violence against men. Many women supporters of the Islamic Revolution, who once welcomed pro-nationalist changes in Iranian law, believing that they would enhance rather than destroy gender equality in Iran, have since been subjected to laws that severely restrict their freedom and reduce their quality of life (the mostly devised by one man, Rabbi Khomeini), they have come to question their religious, social, and cultural legitimacy.

It is easy to feel disconnected when a conflict is taking place on the other side of the world, in a country you have never visited or are not familiar with. It is also easy to feel unable to help Iranians who are fighting for equality and human rights. However, there are a number of ways to support Iranian women while in their home country, including protests, education, and financial support.

Much of the Western feminist thinking about women in the Middle East has been condescending, white savior, and Orientalist. While many women in the Middle East, and indeed around the world, are suffering at the hands of their governments, applying Western frameworks and preconceptions about Islam and the East to this issue does Iranian women a disservice. To better understand the wants and needs of Iranian women, along with the cultural context in which this human rights issue exists, check out the following books.

One of the most stifling aspects of life in Iran, especially for women, is how limited their ability to speak out on issues important to them is. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to listen to Iranian creatives when they are able to speak out.

If you are interested in the visual arts, check out the work of Parastou Forouhar, an Iranian-born artist now based in Germany. Her work draws attention to state-sponsored war crimes against civilians and specifically targets the Iranian government. Also check out graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi. Her masterpiece, Persepolis (above), details her childhood in Iran, her youth during the Islamic Revolution, and her departure for Western Europe. It is a deeply shocking, shockingly intimate book, and a wonderful film.

If movies are really your thing, you can also check out Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari's 2009 film "Women Without Men," based on Shahnush Parsipur's shocking novel and delving into the Islamic Revolution and the years immediately following from a female perspective. Meanwhile, Iranian-British Ana Lily Amirpour's 2014 film, A Girl Walks Home At Night, is one of my favorite films of all time.

Finally, for documentary lovers, check out Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahusub's 2011 film This Is Not a Film. The film is not specifically about feminism, but it is an intimate critique of the Iranian government, cleverly conceived after Panahi was banned from making any more films by the authorities.

Americans have difficulty contacting Iranians, and the Iranian government does not allow significant non-governmental intervention to mitigate injuries to protesters, but it is still possible to help.

First and foremost, consider donating to "United 4 Iran," an organization that has worked year-round for many years to support human rights as well as access to safe food and drinking water in Iran. Currently, their work is also focused on providing mobile applications and VPN networks to Iranian citizens so that they can communicate despite the closure of government offices by the state.

The NCRI Women's Committee of Iran is an international organization dedicated to defending women's rights in Iran, promoting freedom of speech, and spreading international awareness of human rights violations in Iran.

Finally, you can also donate to the Iranian Center for Human Rights, which publishes detailed statistics, analyses, fact sheets, and in-depth reports on the human rights situation in Iran. The Center also supports Iranian creatives by spreading awareness about the situation in Iran through media outreach and international advocacy efforts.

Political activism should always go beyond social media, and your values should be a part of your daily life, not just an Instagram post. However, social media is also a powerful tool for many people to get news, form opinions, and spread awareness and support. Use social media to support women in Iran by talking about what happened to Mahsa Amini, introducing Iranian writers and creators, and sharing links to human rights organizations that support Iran. Just be sure to refrain from using Orientalist or anti-Islamic language (describing people or entire countries as "backward" or "old world") when posting.