Dissent

Iran: Police fire on some of the Thousands of Demonstrators Commemorating 40th day after Mahsa Amini’s Death

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Wednesday was the fortieth day after the death of the Kurdish young woman, Mahsa “Zhina” Amini, 22, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. It is customary in Iran for family and friends mourning a departed loved one to come together one last time on the 40th day, to visit […]

Dissent

The Protests in Iran are part of a long History of Women’s Resistance

The Conversation

By Niloofar Hooman, McMaster University | – On Sept. 16, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in Tehran while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Her death set off a massive wave of demonstrations that have spread across the country. While the protests started with anger over the enforcement of the hijab, […]

Dissent

Iran’s Universities Turn Into A Major Battleground Amid Anti-Government Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami | – ( RFE/RL ) – Dozens of students protested outside the law faculty at Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabei University on October 19, chanting, “dishonorable, dishonorable,” as a government official addressed a conference inside. When government spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi later came outside, he was confronted by around 100 students. The […]

Authoritarianism

Top Iran Prosecutor Threatens Death Penalty for Leading Protests, as Government arrests over 7,000

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – BBC Monitoring reports that the protests in Iran are continuing, both in small towns and big cities, though the situation inside Iran is murky because the regime has cut off the internet. Many protesters appear to have retreated to the suburbs, rather than rallying right downtown where the state security […]

Authoritarianism

The world must hear the Voice of Iranian Women

Global Voices

By Azin Mohajerin and Sussan Tahmasebi | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – The name Mahsa (Jina) Amini has become a rallying cry for millions of people across the world to protest the oppression of the Iranian government against its own citizens. The hashtag #MahsaAmini has broken records on social media for the number of times […]

Authoritarianism

Prison Revolt, Fire, Gunshots at Notorious Evin Facility in Iran, which houses Political Prisoners, as Iran Protests enter 5th Week

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dubai-based Al-Arabiya assembles Tweets from Iran about the prisoner uprising at Iran’s maximum-security prison, Evin, which led to the outbreak of a major fire on Saturday. The facility holds political prisoners, including foreigners. Interrogations there have routinely involved torture. Despite government claims that the fire had been extinguished on Saturday […]

Authoritarianism

What the historic women’s Uprising in Iran teaches us about resisting Authoritarianism

Waging Nonviolence

By Nilofar Sakhi | – The death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained and beaten by Iranian morality police due to a violation of “Iran’s dress code or mandatory hijab rules” has caused unprecedented nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her death is a blatant sign of Iran’s ongoing oppression and violence against […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Massive Baluch Protest in Zahedan; in NW, Security Forces attack School, Injuring and Disappearing Girls

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Because of internet blackouts, news of Iran’s ongoing protests only leaks out in dribbles and drabs, sometimes a couple of days later. Reports did circulate on Friday of a large demonstration in Zahedan after people left Friday prayers to gather in the city center. Police allegedly used live fire to […]

Authoritarianism

Not ‘powerless Victims’: how young Iranian Women have long led a quiet Revolution

The Conversation

By Nasim Salehi, Southern Cross University | – The “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that has taken hold in Iran in recent weeks is not new. Young Iranian women have been involved in small but consistent evolutionary actions during the entire 44 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly in the past two decades. The […]