Mina Ko ‘25, News Staff Writer

Image Courtesy of AP with the Indian Express

On November 21, 2022, Iran’s soccer team refused to sing their national anthem during the FIFA world cup in Qatar in an emotional moment of protest: On September 16, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in captivity while under arrest by the morality police for wearing skinny jeans and not wearing her hijab correctly although the hijab was made compulsory in 1983. To many, the enforcement of the hijab was a successful attempt at diminishing women’s rights. The morality police are the Islamic religious police that enforce and regulate female dress and behavior in Iran. Although Amini’s family said that she was beaten and her head was struck several times in captivity, government officials and the police said that she suffered a heart attack that was caused by an underlying disease while in custody in the Vozara detention center. Amini’s father told BBC Persia that he believed the regime was“ lying. They’re telling lies. Everything is a lie… no matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t let me see my daughter.” Since Ebrahim Riasi became president in 2021 and increased the policing of women’s dress code, tensions between the Iranian public and its government have worsened. Many citizens of Iran rejected the government statement regarding Mahsa Amini and have taken to protest for change in the regime.

Although the regime’s abuse of power is common, the absurdity of Amini’s case made many Iranians sympathize with Amini and her family making them willing to join the cause. It became a turning point, as many citizens realized that the regime’s actions were non-justifiable. In these protests, women often burn their hijabs while dancing. Many other women have cut off their hair as well.  The significance of these actions is that they directly oppose the regime and its rules. The regime cracked down on protestors very violently, especially in areas where ethnic minorities, including the Kurdistan and Balochistan people, live. People have been shot for honking their car horns in support of protesters. Iran has deployed troops, heavy weaponry, and military forces to help quell protests. These protests caused shops to shut down and emptied schools and universities. CNN states that Iran has charged at least 1000 people for their alleged involvement in the protests, with journalists, lawyers, celebrities and sports stars among the detained. This includes Niloufar Hemdi, a reporter who was arrested in late September and charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the state. Since the average age in these protests is very young, at 15 years old, it allows social media to play a larger role in the protests. News can spread like wildfire, and with the help of social media the protests have drawn extreme attention. 

These protests have been incredibly significant towards working to overturn the Iranian regime. Being the biggest protests Iran has seen in years, ethnicities and genders have unified to a level never seen before all across Iran. Ramyar Hassani, spokesman for the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights stated that “For the first time in the history of Iran since the Islamic Revolution, there is this unique unity between the ethnicities. Everyone is chanting the same slogan. Their demand is the same.” While it is too early to tell if these protests will overturn the regime, there are statements circulating that the morality police has been removed. Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Havad Montazeri, said that the morality police were abolished by the same authorities who installed it. However, there has been no confirmation of this statement and it has been chalked up to misinterpretation. Although the protests caused by the death of Mahsa Amini may not overturn the regime, Iranian citizens have seen the spark needed in order to create a full-blown revolution. 

Ms. Fischer, a member of NA’s humanities department, hopes that the people of Iran will have a voice in the protests and make progress in shaping the government that they wish to see. She also commented that a stronger civil society in Iran would create a stronger, more democratic government and that these protests will hopefully set up the tradition and space for protests in the future. The ongoing protests have proved to both the regime and the rest of the world that the Iranian people can unite to fight back against the will of the government, as women from Stockholm to Athens follow suit in solidarity.