Добавить новость
smi24.net
News in English
Сентябрь
2022

Why Iranian women are risking everything by burning their hijabs 

0
Vox 
A picture obtained by AFP shows a demonstrator raising their arms and making the victory sign during a protest in Tehran for Mahsa Amini, on September 19, 2022.  | AFP via Getty Images

Iran is in revolt.

It was not an isolated incident of police violence in Iran. But the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last week has captured the country’s attention.

Amini was visiting the capital of Tehran, coming from the Kurdish province in the country’s northwest, and Iran’s so-called morality police detained her, allegedly for wearing the mandatory headscarf improperly. Several hours after entering police custody, she was in a coma. She died two days later. Iranian police claimed she died after a stroke and suffering cardiac arrest, but witnesses say she died after sustaining blows to the head, and shocking photos that spread online of Amini intubated in a hospital have galvanized the nation.

Protesters have since taken to the streets in more than 50 cities across Iran. Authorities reportedly have killed as many as 36 people during demonstrations. The government has also restricted the internet, so the complete picture may not be available. But the growing arrests of human rights defenders, activists, and journalists are particularly troubling.

Demonstrators have defied the repressive government regularly in the past several years, often expressing economic grievances. Women have been central to Iranian politics of resistance since the 1979 revolution, and before. What’s different about these protests is the diversity of people out on the streets and the widespread nature of Iranian resistance, in cities big and small.

The government may weather the emerging movement. Or Amini’s tragedy could prove to be Iran’s Mohamed Bouazizi — the Tunisian street-seller who self-immolated in December 2010 and helped catalyze the mass protests across the Middle East and North Africa that came to be the Arab Spring.

Across the country, protesters are chanting, “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Those words have resonated deeply because they’re affirmative and unifying, says University of Sussex professor Kamran Matin. “This triangular slogan is uniting different strands of discontent in Iran,” he told me. “This slogan has united every section of Iranian society which has some sort of grievance against the government.”

Why Iranian women are burning headscarves

In response to Amini’s death, Iranians are demanding an end to mandatory hijab laws and burning the scarves in powerful displays of refusal. In Tehran, they have been chanting, “We don’t want forced hijab.”

That’s connected to the police’s purported reason for detaining Amini, but the act of protest carries multiple meanings. Negar Mottahedeh, a professor of gender and feminist studies at Duke University, likened the images of Iranian women burning their headscarves to the bra-burning of the 1960s. Bra-burning meant many things at once: an expression of feminism and liberation, but also a broader rejection of the Vietnam War and of capitalism. Similarly, the images from demonstrations across Iran over the last week object to compulsory veiling and the morality police, but also against a paranoid, controlling state that has sought to police women’s bodies.

Getty Images
People gather in protest against the death of Mahsa Amini along the streets on September 19, 2022, in Tehran, Iran.

The so-called morality police, an independent unit that has been around since 1979, don’t only enforce headscarves but a variety of regulations, including mixed-gender gatherings and prohibitions against drinking alcohol. During the late 1990s when Mohammad Khatami was president, Iran instituted a number of reforms, but his successor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reversed these. The current president, Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative, has maintained such restrictions and emboldened officials to clamp down. Authorities in Iran take it upon themselves to interpret the codes, and enforcement can be arbitrary and violent.

Human rights researchers note that the morality police in the past few months have resorted to violence more frequently.

Even if the protests don’t immediately result in transformative change, they’ve forever changed the debate on compulsory hijab in Iran, says Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “There’s no going back,” she told me. “Yes, police can pretend this never happened. But it did happen. Women took off their headscarves, walked down the street, and the debate has moved forward.”

The boldness of Iranian women in the face of a police state has been one of the enduring dynamics of the country’s street politics. “From the very beginning of the revolution in 1979, women were at the forefront. They were walking shoulder to shoulder with men in front of tanks and guns, and they were seeking a different kind of government, an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist government,” Mottahedeh told me.

The 1979 revolution overthrew a corrupt, US-backed dictator and brought together a disparate opposition, including leftist and Islamic groups. But the political faction that took power after the revolution succeeded, which still rules today, began to implement religious-based laws that discriminated against women.

Christine Spengler/Sygma via Getty Images
Women in the streets of Iran during the May 1, 1979, demonstration.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
People hold up a photo of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini as they participate in a protest against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi outside of the United Nations on September 21, 2022, in New York City.

Mottahedeh emphasizes that many of the initiatives of the country’s first supreme leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the immediate post-1979 moment were about controlling women’s bodies, their careers (excluding them from being judges, for example), and their appearance. Back then, some of the first revolts against the revolutionary government were about the right to abortion, the right to divorce, and the right for a wife to have a say about who her husband’s second wife was going to be.

Despite severe restrictions, women have continued to push back. “It’s really important to focus on women’s resistance and resilience inside of Iran, and not see them as victims,” says Sussan Tahmasebi, executive director of the human rights organization Femena. “Iranian women — even though they deal with a lot of discriminatory laws, structural and legal discrimination — they have always taken every opportunity to advance their lives.”

Another important element of the ongoing mobilization relates to Amini’s Kurdish identity. The Iranian government has, over the years, painted Kurdish activists as separatists seeking to delegitimize the Iranian state. But now with demonstrations so dispersed across the country, the Kurdish minority’s prominence in the protests may reflect the fact that Iranians are becoming more sensitive toward the injustices inflicted upon the ethnic and sectarian minorities in the country. The national character of the protests that elevate the life of a young Kurdish woman provides crucial recognition of their plight.

Matin, who studies Iranian and Kurdish politics, noted that the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” originates from Syrian Kurdistan. “The Kurds have always led the way in resistance against what I would describe, even in kind of scientific terms, as a semi-fascist state,” he said.

What’s next for an Iran in revolt

The demonstrations come at a time when the socioeconomic conditions in Iran are extremely tenuous, with a large portion of Iranian society impoverished. This is partly because of the impact of US sanctions over the Iran nuclear program, as well as the broader global economic conditions and the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s economic troubles are likely to persist without a return to the Iran nuclear deal. Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal in 2018, and obstacles to its revival remain frozen despite diplomacy between the Biden administration, Iran, and world powers, leaving intact intensive economic sanctions on Iran. And without the money to address Iranians’ underlying grievances, the state is likely to flex its strength to deter social unrest.

Ali Vaez, an analyst with International Crisis Group, grew up in Iran and has been taken with the images of boys and girls fighting back against government forces. “These are scenes that were unimaginable 10 years ago, 20 years ago,” he told me. “This is a society that the Islamic Republic clearly is no longer able to control. With repression, they might be able to buy time, but they are not going to be able to address the underlying drivers of these protests.”

It’s impossible to know whether the protests will carry on and grow, as they have in the 2017-18 economic protests or the massive 2009 Green Movement protests, led by a presidential candidate at the time. One thing that’s certain is that protests in Iran are becoming more frequent, says Vaez, which shows the degree of discontent. “We used to see this kind of outburst of public ire once a decade in Iran,” he told me. “Now it’s becoming every other year, basically, and it’s becoming more ferocious, more violent.”

The demonstrations appear to be a spontaneous movement. But a leaderless revolt is also by extension disorganized. That may make it less likely for the movement to grow beyond a street movement into something that can transform Iranian policy and governance.

Two enduring forces also stand in the way of political change: a geriatric supreme leader who is completely averse to change, heading a regime that is willing to deploy brute force against its people. (By coincidence, the protests began the same day as news broke about Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ill health and as the conservative President Ebrahim Raisi has left the country for the United Nations General Assembly in New York.) The discontent in the state and its crisis of legitimacy has been on display since the low voter turnout in the presidential election won by Raisi last year.

Now, the Iranian authorities are arresting activists, organizers, and students. “What concerns me is the escalation of the crackdown — they’re going to try to really force the protests to die down,” said Sepehri Far.

Such a brutal response to the mass protests will further expose the brittleness of the Iranian government. “It reflects the total incapacity of a political system to listen to its own population,” Vaez told me. “So there is a clear divide between state and society in the country — there is no doubt about it. But this is a system that still has the will and a fearsome capacity to repress.”








5 необычных прыжков с парашютом, от которых захватывает дух

В РФ разработали систему голосового скрининга для диагностики болезни Паркинсона

Мичков внесен в Книгу знаменитых людей Кунгура, сообщил директор кунгурского музея: «Никаких его трофеев в музее пока нет, к сожалению»

Аукцион за часть дачи Пугачевой опровергли


Juventus and Roma weigh up McKennie & Cristante swap

Stanford dropout Sam Altman says college is ‘not working great’ for most people—and predicts major change in the next 18 years

Madeline Brewer Marries Jack Thompson-Roylance in England!

UFC Abu Dhabi live blog: Shara Bullet vs. Marc-Andre Barriault


В Санкт-Петербурге обсудили внедрение ИИ в разработку и оптимальные корпоративные архитектуры

Летний внчер в Кимже...

В Курской области прокурор требует компенсацию для рабочего, придавленного погрузчиком

стела Освободителям Ростова


Quarantine Zone creator reveals 3 reasons the zombie sim went viral on TikTok

Ninja Party можно предзаказать в мобильных маркетах с релизом в конце июля

Краткая биографическая справка о центральных персонажах Mafia: The Old Country

Первый трейлер Battlefield 6



Ni Mash: пловец из Москвы умер во время заплыва на Волге в Нижнем Новгороде

Пловец из Москвы погиб во время заплыва на Волге

«Спартак» разгромно проиграл «Балтике» после двух удалений

Уникальная возможность пройти эстетические процедуры с большими скидками


Елена Игоревна Вселенная — писатель, публицист, автор масштабного многотомного проекта «Наследие России»

«Деловые Линии» сократили сроки авиаперевозок по более чем 4400 направлений по России

Технологии будущего: MGIMO Ventures объявляет старт четвертого сезона акселерационной программы

"Локомотив" победил действующего чемпиона РПЛ


Гаджиев: Баку ждет от Москвы признания ответственности за крушение самолета AZAL

Липчанка заявила, что бараны соседей-мигрантов съели ее овощи для бойцов СВО

"Локомотив" обыграл "Краснодар" со счетом 2:1 во втором туре РПЛ

Футбольный клуб «Ростов» уступил «Динамо» в матче со счетом 1:0


Сидоренко из России одержал победу и стал чемпионом по настольному теннису на Универсиаде.

«Краснодар» — «Локо», UFC и матч Калинской: что посмотреть сегодня

Теннисист Медведев не прошел в полуфинал турнира ATP в Вашингтоне

Теннис: Мари Боузкова — первая финалистка турнира в Праге (WTA)


Прикольные поздравления с Днем торговли звучат 27 июля 2025 года

Обнинск за полтора часа оказался подтоплен из-за сильного ливня

Баку ждёт, что Москва возьмёт на себя ответственность за крушение самолёта в Казахстане

Как найти необычные и нестандартные места для отдыха по всей России — инструкция для искателей приключений


Музыкальные новости

В мэрии назвали условия присвоения Элджею звания почётного жителя

Врач Поляков: Киркоров рискует сойти с ума из-за препарата для похудения

Концерт «Шуман. Шуберт. Шопен» покажут на портале мэра Москвы вечером 23 июля

Оззи Осборна убила коварная болезнь


Уникальная возможность пройти эстетические процедуры с большими скидками

«Спартак» разгромно проиграл «Балтике» после двух удалений

Московская область выиграла первый командный чемпионат России по гольфу

Ni Mash: пловец из Москвы умер во время заплыва на Волге в Нижнем Новгороде


Невозможное возможно: две подопечные фонда «Жизнь в Движении» с ограниченными возможностями покорят вершину Эльбруса

Сергей Собянин поздравил работников торговли с профессиональным праздником

Менеджер Артиста. Менеджер по работе с артистами.

В Томске смс-рассылка обошлась "Сберу" в 500 тысяч рублей


В центре Москвы крупная авария парализовала движение автомобилей

Подмосковные власти ужесточили контроль за платными дорогами

В Подмосковье в аварии погибли два водителя и ребенок.

"КАМАЗ" одержал выездную победу над "Волгой" в матче Первой лиги.


«Личная боль Путина, а им всё равно»: Военный не сдержался после выходки в Москве. Капитан тремя словами подписал себе «приговор»

Почтовая карточка в честь основателя авиации внутренних войск


Профессор Баранова рассказала, кому опасен новый штамм коронавируса



Ликсутов: в Москве увеличивают объем выпуска и ассортимент продуктов для здорового питания

Максим Ликсутов: Тренд на здоровье: московские ...

"Осторожен за свое здоровье": Станкович высказался о усталости после игры с "Балтикой".

Клиника гнатологии в Москве


Турция заявила о договоренности по возможной встрече Путина и Зеленского

Почему Израилю можно ВСЁ: Аннексия Палестины и молчание мира

Киев — часть России. Официально: О чём забыли Зеленский и Алиев, сговорившись о "деоккупации"


Пловец из Москвы погиб во время заплыва на Волге

Пловец из Москвы скончался во время заплыва по Волге в Нижнем Новгороде

«Спартак» разгромно проиграл «Балтике» после двух удалений

"Локомотив" победил действующего чемпиона РПЛ



Сергей Собянин. Главное за день

Собянин рассказал, каким будет новый детский сад в Очаково-Матвеевском

Собянин: Строительство детского сада в Очаково-Матвеевском завершится в 2026

Сергей Собянин поздравил работников торговли с профессиональным праздником


Катар предупредил Европу о возможности прекращения поставок газа.

Греция обратилась к Евросоюзу с просьбой предоставить шесть самолетов для борьбы с лесными пожарами.

"Зеленая партия" в Тюрингии все чаще дистанцируется от политической активности.

В стране, любимой российскими туристами, срочно установили новые правила.


Российское юр. лицо Microsoft подало заявление о банкротстве

[LIVE] «Динамо» — «Ростов». Онлайн, прямая трансляция

Баку ждёт, что Москва возьмёт на себя ответственность за крушение самолёта в Казахстане

Когда россияне снова смогут покупать дома и машины


70 участников СВО в Архангельске показали мотивацию выше госслужащих — Цыбульский

В музее-заповеднике «Архангельское» пройдут «Jazzовые сезоны»

Путин дал указание рассмотреть проблемы онкологии в Архангельской области.

В Архангельске началось обучение бойцов СВО, сообщил Цыбульский.


Прогноз погоды в Крыму на 26 июля

"Россия дала мне возможность быть счастливым": Джефф Монсон в Крыму

В Севастополе спасли двух охотниц за селфи на Кадыковском карьере

Прогноз погоды в Крыму на субботу


Тренер "Ростова" Альба объяснил поражение от "Динамо" в матче второго тура РПЛ

Гаджиев: Баку ждет от Москвы признания ответственности за крушение самолета AZAL

В Ярославской области прошел финал турнира по шахматам на Кубок губернатора

Пловец из Москвы скончался во время заплыва по Волге в Нижнем Новгороде














СМИ24.net — правдивые новости, непрерывно 24/7 на русском языке с ежеминутным обновлением *