I've been transfixed by the new revolutionary struggle being fought of the streets of Iran this last week because, honestly, it's the most inspiring women's movement I've seen take root all year! This last year has been a very disheartening year for women's rights all over the world, IMO.
Yeah yeah, we've seen several youth-led revolts of sorts in Iran since the 2009 Green struggle. What's distinctive about this one and does it have better chances of victory? To answer the second question first, no, of course it doesn't. The protests will eventually just be drowned in blood like they all are; it's just a matter of time. (You can tell what the regime's response will be in the end by their current rhetoric. The government is already blaming the protests on America (of course), which means it will be treated as treachery to participate.) Why do I care about it then, you ask? Because this one stands out to me. The others have all been laser focused on economic concerns, like demands to address rising gas prices and calls to negotiate a rescinding of American sanctions at various junctures. This one though is a rare thing to see in the region: a feminist struggle, and not a timid one either!
The current wave of unrest, which has now spread to more than 40 cities in Iran, including the capital, Tehran, was touched off by the police killing of a by all accounts kindly 22-year-old Kurdish woman known to her family by her Kurdish name Jina, but to the larger Iranian public as Mahsa Amini, for the crime of wearing an "improper" hijab (Islamic headscarf). The authorities claim that she conveniently died of a heart attack at the re-education camp they shipped her off to and have released a carefully doctored video to "prove" their account. Her family, by contrast, says that she had no pre-existing heart condition and photos of her from the hospital show skin discoloration and bruising on her face indicative of a beating. The family wants an independent investigation conducted to determine whether she, in reality, suffered a concussion. The Iranian people seem more inclined to believe Amini's family, which has forced the regime to intervene, promising an official whitewashing investigation that will verify the account of the morality police (nope, I'm not making that up: that's the actual name of a real institution in Iran). The people don't seem to be satisfied by this, to say the least. For further context, it's worth pointing out that the regime increased penalties for hijab violations and other restrictions on women's rights in a new law just last month. (Details.)
To briefly summarize the response, Iranian women are, in strikingly large numbers, cutting their hair short and burning their hijabs in public to protest, among other things. The youth supporting them have been known to overturn cop cars and tear down pictures of the Ayatollah. In the unlikely event that you're confused as to which side is exercising disproportionate violence though, it's worth pointing out that more than 80 people have been killed in the unrest so far, just about 8 or 10 of whom were police officers, and at least 1,200 demonstrators have been arrested. And the government is imposing the biggest internet blackout in the country's history to try and stop it. So far no amount of repression and censorship is working though because the movement is still growing and spreading. Today one of Iran's main teachers' unions went on strike in support of the demonstrators, and will do so again on Wednesday.
The demonstrators and online activists involved are now calling not only for an independent investigation, but for the end of the compulsory hijab, the dismantling of the morality police, for an end to male violence and discrimination against women, and, in some cases, for the end of the Ayatollah's theocratic regime.
I know this account may come off as academic and straightforward, but honestly I'm fending off tears even writing these words right now. We all know that these things don't happen in the Middle East. They just don't. And we all know how it will end, likewise, and I think they do too deep down. And yet...
...and...
...and so many other images that will never leave my mind.
...I don't know, it just gets to me. You people know that feminism is a cause central to who I am as a person, but rarely do I see a movement that fills me so completely with every emotion under the rainbow. I...I don't have the words. They're escaping me right now. This is my life right now, doing whatever I can to promote and support these brave, BRAVE revolutionaries. That is all. And if you call that a "neocon" position, I think I'll have to crawl through this screen and re-educate you with some female violence against men!
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Originally Posted by Ransom
