MAHSA Act named to honor a Kurdish woman?

Tehran. The MAHSA Act, which stands for the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability (MAHSA) Act, is named after Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in Iranian custody in 2022.

Her death sparked widespread protests in Iran against the government's compulsory hijab laws and other restrictions on women's rights. The MAHSA Act is a bill introduced in the US Congress that aims to impose sanctions on Iranian leaders in response to human rights violations.

Who was Mahsa Amini?

Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died while on vacation in Tehran. According to the information, she got arrested for improperly wearing hijab and collapsed in the court room as shown in the surveillance footage. Her name became the codename for the Woman Life Freedom revolution.

Recent Developments

The MAHSA Act seeks to address the violations of human rights in Iran and requires the US government to impose sanctions on certain Iranian individuals and entities: The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, and his office. The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, his office and entities overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader are complicit in human rights abuses or terrorism.

In addition to this, the MAHSA Act was recently incorporated into a larger legislative package that passed the House in April 2024. This package also included other measures related to Iran, such as sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

The Act also requires the President to report to Congress every year on whether these sanctions should remain in place.

The passage of the MAHSA Act is a significant development in US-Iran relations. It demonstrates the US government's commitment to holding Iran accountable for human rights abuses. The Act is also likely to further strain relations between the two countries.

Why is it making headlines now?

It is worth noting that the MAHSA bill was introduced in the United States Congress House of Representatives in January 2023 by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). The house then passed the MAHSA Act in September 2023. In July 2023, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the MAHSA Act. In April 2024, it was incorporated into a larger legislative package that passed the House.