What Will 2023 Hold for Iran?

It has been one hundred days since the protests in Iran began, the longest running anti-government protests in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Since then, over 500 protesters, including 69 children, have been killed, according to the Human Rights Activists’ News Agency (HRANA). Despite this devastating death toll, protesters, predominantly women and young people, have continued to demand change. After 40 years of anger, will these be the protests which finally trigger a regime change?

Since September, more than 1,000 protests have been recorded across the country, in over 150 cities.

Ruby Wait-Weguelin

The protests began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Whilst visiting Tehran with her family, Mahsa was arrested by the morality police for what they deemed ‘inappropriate clothing’ and was taken into police custody. According to video evidence released by the police, Mahsa collapsed in the detention centre and was taken to hospital. Three days later, she was declared dead. Although the coroner’s report suggested underlying heart problems, many believe her death was instead the result of police brutality. Eyewitnesses told Mahsa’s family that she was beaten by the police officers, however neither the body cameras nor the police van’s CCTV have been made available to confirm this. 

Following the news about Mahsa’s death, people started protesting in her hometown and outside of the hospital where she died. These protests have grown in both size and intensity, and their demands have evolved from criticism of compulsory hijab laws and the gendered violence of the morality police to demanding the downfall of the regime. Since September, more than 1,000 protests have been recorded across the country, in over 150 cities. Some of the largest protests have occurred in the Kurdistan province, where Mahsa was from, as well as in some of the poorest provinces of Iran, such as the Sistan Baluchestan.

What is especially remarkable is the widespread involvement. Protesters range from schoolgirls removing their headscarves and protesting against school officials, but also shopkeepers and oil and steel workers.

^{Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons.}

Hijab laws have existed in Iran since the early 1980s and enforce a conservative dress code that all women and girls over 9 are required to follow in public. The punishment for violating the laws have changed over the years but in the 1990s, breach of hijab laws became a criminal offence that could lead to prison sentences. Not only have convictions become more severe, but the morality police have also been further empowered and reports of verbal abuse and physical violence towards women by morality police officers have been extensive. Mahsa’s death is part of a large-scale abuse of power by the morality police and represents the systemic problem with the patriarchal Iranian regime.  

Although the mass protests following Mahsa’s death represent a new generation of the women’s rights movement in Iran, opposition to the compulsory hijab laws is not a new phenomenon. Many women have been fighting it since the early days of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Despite involvement in the Revolution being high amongst women, the first protests against compulsory hijab laws started after less than one month of the new regime. 

Over the last 40 years, protesters have used increasingly bold acts of defiance in order to reclaim their agency. Most recently, women have been publicly removing and burning their headscarves, cutting their hair, and using social media to gain international attention. Capturing the essence of the movement in the chant ‘Women, Life, Freedom,’ protestors are connecting the liberties of the whole population with the liberties of women. In order to achieve this, they are not only demanding abolition of the hijab laws and accountability for the death of Mahsa Amini, they are demanding regime change.

^{Image Credits: Flikr.}

Although it is difficult to get a clear picture of the events in Iran, Human Rights Watch has found evidence of the use of excessive and lethal force against protesters. 476 protesters have been killed since the demonstrations began and the UN has found that at least 14,000 people have been arrested since the nationwide unrest began. Among those arrested is musician Shervin Hajipour, who created a song based entirely from messages that Iranians have posted online about why they are protesting. Quickly going viral and becoming the movement’s anthem, videos show Shervin’s lyrics being sung by schoolgirls in Iran, blasted from car windows in Tehran, and played at solidarity protests across the world. 

Although the Attorney General in Iran has said that parliament and the judiciary are reviewing the hijab laws, he has also released confusing statements about the morality police. Reports suggest the morality police officers have been less visible on the streets in the last few weeks, but there have been no significant changes.

Despite continued repression, it is clear that the protest movement has been successful in putting immense pressure on the Iranian government. This latest chapter of the long struggle for women’s rights in Iran has gained increasingly widespread support. Will this be the final challenge to the regime?

Header Image Credits: Flickr.