For the fourth straight week, Iran has been subject to widespread protest following the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, at the hands of Iran’s so-called morality police for not wearing her hijab tight enough. Being one of the most authoritarian governments in the world, Iran is no stranger to popular protest, and usually suppresses them after a few days through violence and restriction of free speech. But this new wave of protests feels different.
Despite use of deadly force, and frequent internet blackouts in an attempt to suppress the demonstrations, the people still consistently appear on the streets. Iranian women are at the heart of this movement; they have led and organised the protests, they have been removing and burning their hijabs, cutting their hair, and in some cases, laying down their lives in pursuit of their goal. Those who are willing to die for their cause are often worthy of praise, but the courage shown by these Iranian women in the face of their government’s tear gas and live rounds is unlike any we have seen in Iran in modern times.
Since the protests began, around 200 people, including at least 20 members of Iranian security forces and 19 children have died. According to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights, the parents and family members of those under-18 killed have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and coercion by Iranian security forces, forcing them to say publicly that their child died by suicide. Such methods are completely deplorable, and further demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s fear of its own people and their sacred free will.
The aims of the protests have morphed in recent weeks. Initially, they seemed to be simply protesting against the unjust killing of an innocent woman, and against intrinsic misogyny in Iranian law. Now, however, it has evolved into a large-scale anti-government movement, with the apparent aim of toppling the regime entirely, and replacing it with a more democratic, less oppressive system. Protestors are now frequently recorded chanting “death to the Ayatollah”, and every day more Iranians join the call for regime change.
It has been clear to the international community for some time that Iran’s grip over its people has been slipping. Its only response to protests of this kind is brute force; population control through fear. These most recent protestors have shown that they will not be cowed by the Islamic Republic’s use of violence, and even though hundreds have already been killed, the demonstrations have not ceased.
The use of violence, especially against young women and schoolgirls leading the protests, has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community. Sanctions have been placed upon Iranian government officials by western nations in response to the crackdowns, and relations between Iran and the west have grown even pricklier. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the western interference, specifically by the United States and Israel for Iran’s current unrest. This is, of course, untrue. It seems Khamenei is unable to publicly accept that Iranians alone are capable of organising such public unrest, and wishes to convince those dwindling numbers still on the fence that the only thing plaguing Iran is the west, and not his own oppressive regime.
The weaknesses of this regime are becoming more apparent each day the protests continue. Senior figures in the Iranian government are now publicly calling for a relaxation of the hijab laws, and have started to acknowledge that the current unrest is not the fault of western interference, but the Islamic Republic’s alone. If the majority of Iranian policymakers continue to ignore and reject the true causes of these protests, the government’s situation will only worsen.
There is still a long way to go, and a considerable amount of pressure still to be applied to the Islamic Republic until drastic change can be implemented, but these protests have made more ground and incensed more ordinary Iranians into action than most before them. If these protests are put down violently by the government and do not result in greater freedoms, the Iranian people will not forget, or forgive, and only forestall the inevitable. The Islamic Republic will be pushed further from the international community, which given Iran’s thinly-veiled nuclear ambitions, would be a dangerous situation for everyone.
I hope the people of Iran are able to win their freedom; they have suffered long enough under autocrats. If this popular uprising is able to overthrow such a corrupt, illiberal system, and replace it with successful, thriving democracy, it will send a very strong message to other dictators around the world. If regimes continue to oppress, steal, and kill their own people to stay in power, they also could be similarly ignominiously replaced.
stay safe
/e