avatarPatsy Fergusson

Summary

Young Iranian women are leading widespread and persistent protests against the country's oppressive regime, risking their lives to demand women's rights and basic freedoms.

Abstract

The protests in Iran, now in their third month, are a bold response to the regime's harsh enforcement of hijab laws and broader human rights abuses. Sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for improper hijab, the movement is characterized by acts of defiance such as women removing their hijabs and public demonstrations. Despite severe repercussions, including arrests, charges carrying the death penalty, and the killing of protestors, including children, the demonstrations continue to draw diverse support across social classes and ethnicities. The international community is called upon to acknowledge, support, and honor the courage of these protestors, particularly the young women at the forefront, as they challenge the theocratic government and its restrictive policies.

Opinions

  • The author expresses deep admiration for the bravery of Iranian women leading the protests, viewing them as global heroes deserving of worldwide recognition and support.
  • There is a strong opinion that the international media should provide more coverage and public figures should offer more vocal support for the Iranian protestors.
  • The author criticizes the Iranian regime for its violent crackdown on protestors and its failure to address the underlying economic and social grievances fueling the unrest.
  • The article suggests that the current protests are unprecedented in their diversity and scope, uniting Iranians from different backgrounds in a common cause against the regime.
  • The author believes that global acknowledgment and praise could contribute significantly to the movement and potentially lead to meaningful change in Iran.
  • There is an opinion that the Iranian government's threats and actions, such as threatening the families of the Iranian football team for not singing the national anthem, are indicative of a regime desperate to maintain control through fear and intimidation.
  • The author implies that the international community, including individuals in the West, are not powerless and can contribute to the cause by honoring the protestors and spreading awareness.

Young Women Are Leading the Iranian Revolt

All hail the heroic protestors in Iran

Movie star Taraneh Alidoosti. Her sign says “Women. Freedom. Life,” a slogan that has proliferated at the protests. Photo on CNN.

We’re in the third month of protests in Iran against the repressive regime that allows “morality police” to beat women to death for not fully covering their hair. As a Western woman living half way across the world, I’m in awe of the young women who are leading the protests.

I want more for them: more press coverage, more public support, more safety, more change. I want them to be acknowledged worldwide as the heroes they are. I want the world to burst open in praise.

How much courage did it take for movie star Taraneh Alidoosti to post a picture on Instagram without her headscarf? She held a sign with a slogan that has proliferated at the protests: Women. Life. Freedom.

Protests continue three or more times a week, despite reports that more than 18,000 protestors have been arrested, some charged with crimes like “waging war against God” or “spreading corruption on earth” that carry the death penalty; despite the fact that more than 400 people including 50 children have been killed by government security forces, including 10-year-old Kian Pirfalak, sometimes symbolized by a rainbow on protest signs after a home video circulated of him with a school project which he dedicated to “the God of Rainbows.”

Kian Pirfalak. Photo from NY Times. His symbol on a protest poster. Photo from Iran International

The government claims the boy was shot by “terrorists.”

How much courage did it take for his mother to dispute that claim, telling the huge crowd at his funeral that their car had been fired on by security forces — despite the fact that they had turned it around as instructed — killing her son and putting her husband in the hospital where he remains to this day?

“‘Khamenei the Zahhak! We’ll Take You Down into Grave,’ the people attending Kian’s funeral chanted, comparing Iran’s Supreme Leader to Zahhak, an evil figure in Persian mythology who’s known for executing people and using their brains to feed the snakes on his shoulders.” ~Iran International

How much courage did it take another bereft mother to cry “death to the child-killing regime!” at the funeral of 14-year-old Artin Rahmani, which was attended by tens of thousands?

While Iranians have risen up against their repressive government in the past, including widespread protests in 2009, political analysts say these protests are different, involving the rich as well as poor and middle class; a range of ethnicities including Kurds, Turks, and the majority Fars; and people living in the country as well as big cities like Tehran.

The anger against the theocratic government is deep. Protestors have burned the childhood home of the Islamic revolution’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the ground.

“Protesters set ablaze the museum of childhood home of Mr. Khomeini, who died in 1989, in his hometown, Khomein, on Thursday night [Nov. 15], videos showed. Crowds of men smashed and stomped on a street sign bearing his name in the town of Khash, according to a video posted online. And parts of the Shia theology center where Mr. Khomeini nurtured the seeds of the revolution, in the city of Qom, were shown to be attacked and set on fire.” ~New York Times

The protests aren’t only about women’s rights, although that is a very visible element. Most people in Iran suffer under its repressive regime, having “grievances over state control of people’s lives, the precarious state of the sanctions-throttled economy and Iran’s continued international isolation,” according to the LA Times.

Many protestors feel they have nothing to lose, the LA Times said. A 36-year-old teacher interviewed for that story shared a few details of her life.

“A university graduate with a degree in biochemistry, she has little to show for it other than a job as a teacher and administrator in various schools around south Tehran. She makes $350 a month, nowhere near enough to rent a small apartment, let alone buy one. Notions of marriage, kids and the basic touchstones of a stable middle-class existence seem far-fetched.

“‘Ten years ago I could take trips inside and outside the country. I can’t do that anymore,’ she said. ‘I can’t afford to buy a cheap car. I should’ve had my own small apartment by now, with some simple furniture. Instead, I live with my parents. If my cellphone breaks, I’ll have to wait a few months before I can buy one.’”

Rather than respond to protestors’ complaints about social control and economic conditions, the regime is doubling down on violent suppression. When the Iranian football team refused to sing the national anthem in solidarity with protestors before it’s first match in the World Cup, the government threatened to torture their families.

The protests were sparked by the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was taken into custody for not fully covering her hair with her hijab. Since then, women have been taking off their hijabs in protest, both in public and on social media.

Mahsa Amini. Photo provided by her family to Iran Wire.

Iranian actress Hengameh Ghaziani was arrested after posting a picture of herself without a hijab on Instagram. “This might be my last post,” she wrote. “From this moment on, whatever happens to me, know that as always, I am with Iranian people until my last breath.”

What kind of courage does it take to risk your life in pursuit of basic human rights — like the right to decide what to wear?

From my apartment in the United States, I feel powerless to stop the Iranian regime from brutalizing its citizens or support the young women leading the fight against it. But am I really powerless? Are we?

At least I can acknowledge them. I can praise them. I can honor and thank them, and I can recognize that if enough people across the world did the same, it could create a tipping point and bring about a change.

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Iran
Women
Feminism
Iranian
Human Rights
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