Euronews and other outlets reported on the 11th (local time) that the young women regarded as central figures in Iran’s 2022 hijab protests are now actively expressing their will to resist in the latest anti-government demonstrations.

According to the reports, as anti-government protests have spread across Iran, numerous videos have appeared on various social media platforms showing Iranian women setting fire to photographs of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and using them to light cigarettes. The women in the videos were not wearing the hijab that the Iranian authorities force women to wear, and after dropping the charred images of Khamenei to the ground, some made obscene hand gestures.

In Iran, both damaging images of Khamenei and women smoking are strictly prohibited. Euronews interpreted this as “a declaration of rejecting both political and religious authority, as well as the strict social norms imposed on women.” These videos are spreading rapidly worldwide via social media, even as the Iranian government has cut off communications access following the outbreak of the protests.

Iranian women also drew attention as symbols of resistance during the protests that began in 2022 after university student Mahsa Amini died under suspicious circumstances following her detention by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. They confronted the regime at the time, calling for women’s rights, but faced a violent crackdown. Even after the hijab protests, Iranian women have refused to back down, appearing in public without the hijab or taking part in sporting events as acts of resistance.

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Euronews said, “The Iranian women who drew global attention by cutting their hair or burning hijabs during the hijab protests have taken a step further,” adding, “The regime’s violent response has not weakened their resolve and has instead driven their fight for freedom in a more radical direction.”

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The anti-government protests sparked by economic hardship have continued for more than two weeks, with the death toll rising to at least some 540 people. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that at least 544 people have been killed and 10,681 have been detained in connection with the protests. Considering that the Iranian authorities have cut off local communications, some analyses suggest the death toll could run into the thousands.