The protests that began following the murder of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s “morality police” for the supposed crime of not properly wearing her hajib are now 20 days old. In the last week, the government has cracked down erratically, but also brutally, and Amini has been joined by dozens of other martyrs, like 17-year-old Nika Shakarami and 14-year-old Siavash Mahmoudi.
But even as Iranian troops fire into crowds and Iran fills its jails with protesters, the protests are stubbornly persisting. And they seem to have found a new and even more vibrant life in a place the mullahs of the theocratic dictatorship were probably not expecting—girls' schools. High school girls seem to have joined the protests en masse. Schools have not just become the scene of large-scale protests, the young women at these schools have become avid proponents of overthrowing Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei.
Mahsa Amini was just 22, and as the days pass, the protest seems to be revealing a generational split in Iran and a genuine existential threat to the Islamic Republic. Many older people appear to have lost respect for the leadership in the country and are disgusted by the excess and corruption of the “morality police” and other institutions. But the younger people do not appear to buy into the whole idea of the Islamic Republic at all.
The schoolgirl revolution is becoming the burning heart of what’s happening, and if that makes this sound like it might be easily dismissed by those in power, the truth is just the opposite. These young women are gaining courage and influence by the day, and they’re not backing down even in the face of threats.
These young women in this video are telling off a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and both the anger and power they feel are palpable. They are not going back from this.
This is another large school two days ago.
There have been many assumptions that the protests will die out because they “lack leadership” or are “spontaneous gatherings.” But that may be a very poor assumption on the part of those who readily dismiss the anger of these young women. How willing are they to bet that there are no powerful voices and energetic leaders arising within this group? How certain are they that there is no communication and coordination between these schools?
Iranian officials may simply assume there’s a lack of leadership here, because they don’t recognize leadership unless it comes with a long beard and a dark scowl. They may not think a revolution can happen without assault rifles and men riding around in trucks. They may be very, very wrong.
Listen to historian Dr. Rohman Alvadi speaking to what he sees in Iran.
In addition to firing into groups of women protesting on the street and engaging in mass arrests, Iranian security forces have continued to engage in an internet lockdown. This is limiting direct connections with the voices of the women at the heart of the protest in Iran, and making it difficult to track the course of events day by day.
But just because you don’t see events on the streets in Tehran, don’t assume those streets are quiet. This is the biggest challenge to the theocratic regime since its birth in 1979. And this time, it may be high school girls that give everyone a history lesson.
In recognition of the bravery of the women of Iran, celebrities around the world have begun joining them symbolically. This may seem like a stunt, but it’s an important one—for anything to happen in Iran, it’s going to need international attention and support. And Iran is also going to need those international connections when the regime of Khamenei is gone.
But even as Iranian troops fire into crowds and Iran fills its jails with protesters, the protests are stubbornly persisting. And they seem to have found a new and even more vibrant life in a place the mullahs of the theocratic dictatorship were probably not expecting—girls' schools. High school girls seem to have joined the protests en masse. Schools have not just become the scene of large-scale protests, the young women at these schools have become avid proponents of overthrowing Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei.
Mahsa Amini was just 22, and as the days pass, the protest seems to be revealing a generational split in Iran and a genuine existential threat to the Islamic Republic. Many older people appear to have lost respect for the leadership in the country and are disgusted by the excess and corruption of the “morality police” and other institutions. But the younger people do not appear to buy into the whole idea of the Islamic Republic at all.
The schoolgirl revolution is becoming the burning heart of what’s happening, and if that makes this sound like it might be easily dismissed by those in power, the truth is just the opposite. These young women are gaining courage and influence by the day, and they’re not backing down even in the face of threats.
These young women in this video are telling off a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and both the anger and power they feel are palpable. They are not going back from this.
This is another large school two days ago.
There have been many assumptions that the protests will die out because they “lack leadership” or are “spontaneous gatherings.” But that may be a very poor assumption on the part of those who readily dismiss the anger of these young women. How willing are they to bet that there are no powerful voices and energetic leaders arising within this group? How certain are they that there is no communication and coordination between these schools?
Iranian officials may simply assume there’s a lack of leadership here, because they don’t recognize leadership unless it comes with a long beard and a dark scowl. They may not think a revolution can happen without assault rifles and men riding around in trucks. They may be very, very wrong.
Listen to historian Dr. Rohman Alvadi speaking to what he sees in Iran.
In addition to firing into groups of women protesting on the street and engaging in mass arrests, Iranian security forces have continued to engage in an internet lockdown. This is limiting direct connections with the voices of the women at the heart of the protest in Iran, and making it difficult to track the course of events day by day.
But just because you don’t see events on the streets in Tehran, don’t assume those streets are quiet. This is the biggest challenge to the theocratic regime since its birth in 1979. And this time, it may be high school girls that give everyone a history lesson.
In recognition of the bravery of the women of Iran, celebrities around the world have begun joining them symbolically. This may seem like a stunt, but it’s an important one—for anything to happen in Iran, it’s going to need international attention and support. And Iran is also going to need those international connections when the regime of Khamenei is gone.