In the last few weeks, protesters have filled the streets of Tehran, Iran’s capital, demanding that high-ranking leaders implement change and end the strict policy stating that women must wear a hijab.

On Sept. 16. Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman accused of not wearing her hijab properly, was scooped up by a special arm of Iran’s law enforcement staff known as the morality police and detained. Her family said police beat her and killed her. The police deny any wrongdoing.

Seven-thousand miles away, Muslim women who attend Richland are witnessing this moment of turmoil, suffering and defiance. They are watching from Dallas with open eyes and open hearts. “I feel sad about her, and I hope it will never happen again,” said Mahlab Fedaye, 18, a Richland Collegiate High School student from Ghazni, Afghanistan.