Hundreds of people protest the death of a young woman arrested by vice squad for ‘inappropriate dress’; Expert points out that while the transformations aren’t fast, there’s a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’
RINGO CHIU / AFP
The wave of protests in Will place on the world stage and the support of eminent men and names, such as Reza Palevi, son of the country’s last Shah, who was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the year the region was ruled by conservatives, and women and others Groups lost their rights. The demonstrations began on September 16, the day after it was announced the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22yearold girl who was taken away by vice squads for wearing “inappropriate clothing”. She was in a coma after her arrest and died three days after being admitted to the hospital. According to the Iranian authorities, Amini died of natural causes, but according to Erfan Salih Mortezaee, a cousin of the young woman who lives in Iraqi Kurdistan, the vice squad beat her with a bat and when they hit her on the head, Amini lost consciousness. Doctors reported that the cause of death was related to the blow. The case sparked a revolt in Iran, leading people to take to the streets demanding answers and bringing an end to the oppressive regime. “In my opinion, these are really modern times. The first women’s revolution, for women, with the support of husbands, children, brothers and parents,” Palevi said in an interview with AFP news agency. “We have reached this point, as the Spaniards say: enough!” added the exiled Iranian WashingtonIn the USA.
Paulo Velasco, a PhD in political science from IESPUERJ, says Amini’s death is the “spark for more vigorous demonstrations that reflect longstanding discontent.” He recalls that the repressive regime has ruled the region for four decades and the protests have “reinforced an almost universal feeling of resistance to a regime that does not accept dissonant voices and social plurality and imposes conservative austerity on mores”. In Iran, women are required to cover their hair and body below the knees, but most women allow themselves certain liberties, such as a slightly loose veil or partially covering the hair. In protest of Amini’s death, some demonstrators defied authorities, taking off their hijabs and burning or cutting them through the crowd, according to video footage that went viral on social media. “No to the veil, no to the turban, yes to freedom and equality!” shouted demonstrators in Tehran.
Iranian women cut their hair in protest at the death of a young woman and in a bid for women’s rights │John MACDOUGALL / AFP
“I think most Iranian women, when you look at the freedoms of women in other parts of the world, are demanding the same rights for themselves,” says Palevi. Her grandfather, Reza Shah, banned the wearing of the veil in 1936 in a westernization movement inspired by neighboring Turkey. His father, the last Shah of Iran, Mohamed Reza Pahevi, gave women the choice of wearing it or not, something the Islamic Republic ended when it came to power. The fact that the protests are taken over by men is a very important act for Velasco, “because it’s not just about gender. What we have is a popular call for change, for a society that wants to be more plural and have a wider range of rights.” He adds that “men show representation and responsibility in the demonstrations in defense of women’s rights, because if it If only women existed, it would be easier to silence them”. Although Amini’s death was the trigger, the political scientist says there have been some movements, including within religious groups in Iran, that have emphasized the need for government dialogue with society, but adds that “listening to the demands and the cries a society striving for rapid transformation does not mean the end of the Iranian revolution and an agile transition in terms of greatly expanded rights for segregated groups”. However, this dialogue can bring about changes and is a “light at the end of the tunnel”, he says.
Reza Palevi, a respected figure among Iranian exiles, says he doesn’t want a monarchy restored to Iran, an idea that has little support in the country. Instead, like other opposition groups abroad, he advocates the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Magna Carta. “There is no path to true democracy without a clear definition and separation of church and state,” he asserts. He welcomed the international community’s condemnation of the crackdown on protests in Iran particularly in Germany and Canada and called for increased pressure on Tehran, such as expelling diplomats and freezing their assets. “It is important to give more than moral support. These would be measures that would have an effect,” he explained. Western demonstrations over Iran’s protests have angered officials and heightened tensions between yearstorn regions. “The protests make the situation worse because the Iranian government has assumed that what we are seeing is a Westernorchestrated conspiracy” and “trying to convince global public opinion that these are not spontaneous events, but funded and instigated by the West. “Western”.
Mahsa Amini was killed by the vice squad for not wearing her costumes correctly │John MACDOUGALL / AFP
Velasco says these demonstrations are a way to “prompt the government to make this conservative agenda more flexible and create space for other social groups to be able to speak out actively in the country.” In recent days, however, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called on the security forces to “take decisive action against those who threaten the security of the country and the people”. Justice Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei ruled out any kind of “mercy” against the instigators of the “riots”. The Iranian leader also said he considered the chaos caused by the wave of protests caused by the death of young Mahsa Amini “unacceptable”. “People’s safety is the red line and nobody is allowed to break the law and sow chaos,” the leader told public television. The President promised transparency in the case of the dead girl and announced that he would soon publish a report on the causes of the incident. At least 83 people have died and 1,200 have been arrested during the protests, according to the latest report by Oslobased NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR). To stem the protests, authorities blocked access to Instagram and Whatsapp in the country, which also has internet connection problems. These are the most important demonstrations since 2019.