<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Nine people are now reported to have been killed at protests in Iran sparked by the death of a woman detained for allegedly breaking strict hijab rules.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Among those reported killed is a 16-year-old boy, shot dead when security forces opened fire on protesters.</div><div><br></div><div>The unrest has spread to more than 20 major cities, including the capital Tehran.</div><div><br></div><div>Videos posted online from Wednesday's unrest showed women waving their headscarves in the air or burning them.</div><div><br></div><div>"No to the headscarf, no to the turban, yes to freedom and equality!" protesters were heard chanting at a demonstration in Tehran.</div><div><br></div><div>In an address to the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden said Americans stood with "the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights".</div><div><br></div><div>He spoke after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi rejected calls from Western powers to respect women's rights.</div><div><br></div><div>The hard-line Shia Muslim cleric accused them of "double standards", citing the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous children in Canada and the treatment of the Palestinian people.</div><div><br></div><div>Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died in hospital on Friday, after spending three days in a coma.</div><div><br></div><div>She was visiting the capital Tehran with her family when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated".</div><div><br></div><div>There are reports that officers beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles.</div><div><br></div><div>Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died in hospital on Friday, after spending three days in a coma.</div><div><br></div><div>She was visiting the capital Tehran with her family when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated".</div><div><br></div><div>There are reports that officers beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles.Source: BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/kh</div>