Iran Protests
In this opinionated article, Julia Wilson will be discussing the protests happening in Iran, the harsh laws that inspired them, and why they will not be stopping anytime soon.
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Iran Protests
Iran Protests
By Julia Wilson
By Julia Wilson
Iranians, tired of oppressive laws, gathered in the largest anti-government protest since 2009 this September. The protests traveled to 80 cities, even though the authorities enforced a repression and arrested many journalists and activists. In some cities, security responded by opening fire on the crowd of women protesting for freedom. This has killed dozens of innocent people, and injured many more. Iranian state media declared that more than 35 people were killed in the uproar, although that number is suspected to be much higher. Some officers even fired at windows, and according to eyewitnesses, threw tear gas into unsuspecting apartments. These protests were inevitable, but something that in no way required violence to stop them. Women in Iran have been unfairly fighting against the law which forces them to cover their hair with a hijab or headscarf for years, but the death of one woman really pushed them over the edge.
The law mandating hijabs became official in 1981, a few years after the Islamic Revolution. According to The New York Times, during a visit to Tehran in September 2022, a young woman named Mahsa Amini was arrested for violating the law. She died three days later while in custody of the morality police. She was 22. Iran’s security forces stated that she had a heart attack and collapsed while training on hijab rules at the detention center. Because her family claimed that she was in perfect health, it was very strange for a young woman to supposedly die from heart failure. Amini’s death sparked an anger inside many other women that had previously been dormant. Many of them tore off their head coverings and watched as they burned in protest of the law and unjust consequences. Some videos spreading through the internet show women cutting off their hair while standing in front of a wild crowd.
From The New York Times
From The New York Times
In the heat of their anger, Iranians aimed their fury at the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his heir, Mojtaba. They wished for their death and filled the streets, chanting “Death to the dictators!” Because of these protests, destruction has wreaked the streets of the Kurdish province, where 733 people have died and 600 were arrested, as stated by Hengaw, a human rights organization. Although the government has directed all of its force at stopping the uproars, the protests show no sign of diminishing. The government seems to be uneasy, as they successfully blocked many apps and internet services. They blocked Instagram and Whatsapp, which were huge tools for spreading awareness of what is happening in Iran and tracking protests and events. Protesters now rely partly on people living outside of their country to raise cognizance. In some areas, power was cut at night, especially in neighborhoods with more powerful protests.
Of course, this was not the first time the government attempted to crush women fighting for their rights. This is all part of a greater struggle for issues such as divorce, child custody, and a woman’s right to travel and work without the male guardian's approval or guidance. In 2017, a woman named Vida Movahed stood on a utility box in Tehran, pulled off her hijab and flaunted it through the air on a stick. Countless women were inspired by her bravery and created the Girls of Revolution Street protest, which were, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, peaceful. However, like other protest movements, they were shut down and many people were arrested who did not have the money for bail.
From BBC News
These protests in Iran have been happening since the early 1980s, and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. On the surface, the protests are for the right to not wear a head covering, but if one looks deeper into Iran’s misogynistic history, the truth is revealed. These protests are just as much for that as they are for freedom. While women in Iran are forced to wear a hijab, people in India are fighting for the right to wear one. These two things seem wildly different, but they really have the same root cause. So although these bans are holding fast, the strong protesters add a glimmer of hope to the oppressed everywhere.
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