Iran

By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin | – (The Conversation) – Three weeks after the violent death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police for the crime of wearing her hijab improperly, protests continue to rage across the country. These demonstrations defy both repression by security forces in […]

Feminism

Women in Turkey, Including Turkish Kurds, stand in solidarity with Women of Iran

Global Voices

By Arzu Geybullayeva | – From video campaigns circulating on social media to street protests and singers cutting their hair on stage — women from all walks of life in Turkey have expressed solidarity with the ongoing protests in Iran. In a country where women’s rights keep deteriorating, the murder of Mahsa Amini hits close […]

Authoritarianism

Young Unveiled Iranian Women Protesters Keep Mysteriously falling off Buildings, According to Country’s Police

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Like Russian officials and failed diplomats, who seem to fall off buildings at a dizzying rate, Iranian young women under the harsh, patriarchal rule of the ayatollahs have developed the same health condition. Or so it is alleged by the official Iranian press. Independent organizations such as Amnesty International beg […]

Authoritarianism

Hope for a New Day in Iran?

Nassrine Azimi

Hiroshima (Special to Informed Comment) — In 1975, when I was 16, my father’s work took our family to Turkey. It was hard parting. I was then in my junior year at Tehran’s famed Jewish high-school where, despite being a Muslim, I had thrived and made lasting friendships. Turkey in those days was struggling through […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Security Forces Fire On, Kill Protesters: International Pressure Needed to End Use of Excessive, Lethal Force

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have ruthlessly cracked down on widespread anti-government protests with excessive and lethal force throughout Iran, Human Rights Watch said today. Based on videos of protests, and interviews with witnesses and a security force member, Human Rights Watch documented numerous incidents of security forces unlawfully using […]

Feminism

Activist Student Movements have Shaped Iran at Every Turn: The Islamic Republic won’t be the Same

Fariba Amini

Newark, Del. (Special to Informed Comment) – Iran’s student movement has never gone away. On 16th of Azar/ December 7, 1953, three students, Ghandchi, Bozorgnia and Shariat Razavi were killed at Tehran University while the then VP Richard Nixon visited Iran, following the Coup in August of that year. Ever since, this date has been […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: School and University Women Lead Rallies, Sit-ins Bareheaded, as Leader Khamenei Softens on Compulsory Veiling

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday in Iran, demonstrations, marches and rallies continued for the 17th day, spearheaded by high school and college students. Many universities entered a third day of class boycotts by students, who said they would not return to their studies until the government released imprisoned students. At some universities students […]

Authoritarianism

‘They Have Found The Courage’: Iranian Women Go Hijab-Less In Public Amid Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/ RL ) – Two young Iranian women posted a photo of themselves having breakfast at a restaurant in Tehran without hijabs. The same day, actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya spoke at the public funeral in the Iranian capital without a headscarf. On September 27, a video emerged of a woman without a hijab marching on […]

Dissent

Iran Protests for Personal Freedoms Enter 3rd Week, as all Three Branches of Government Vow Crackdown

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that President Ebrahim Raisi met Saturday with the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and with the Chief Justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, about the wave of demonstrations that entered its third week this weekend. The heads of all three branches of civil government called on the police to […]