Iran

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 […]

Authoritarianism

This time, Iranian Women’s Demands are being Seen as the Nation’s Demands

The Conversation

By Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University and Mona Tajali, Agnes Scott College | – (The Conversation) – The world has been transfixed by images of Iranian women shouting “women, life, liberty,” leading protest rallies, dancing in the streets and burning their headscarves while facing armed soldiers. The displays of courage by Iranian women are not unlike […]

Authoritarianism

Iran Accused Of Using armed Minors To Suppress Anti-Government Protests

Golnaz Esfandiari

( RFE/RL) — As Iranian authorities crack down on nationwide anti-government protests, photos have appeared on social media that purportedly show children and adolescent boys wearing unforms and holding batons. They appear to be wearing the uniforms of the Basij paramilitary forces, a branch of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The photos have […]

Feminism

Women-led Protests in Iran gather Momentum – but will They be enough to bring about Change?

The Conversation

By Tony Walker, La Trobe University | – As protests in Iran drag on into their fourth week over the violent death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, there are two central questions. The first is whether these protests involving women and girls across Iran are different from upheavals in the past, […]

Featured

To Deal with Saudi Arabia, Biden should Fast-Track both Iran Deal and the Greening of Transportation

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Reuters reports that the Biden White House is upset with Saudi Arabia over the recent OPEC+ decision to cut the output of the 21 nations grouped in the bloc by 2 million barrels a day. President Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview Tuesday, “there will be consequences” for […]

Authoritarianism

Headcovers have always been Political in Iran – for Women on all Sides

The Conversation

By Eliz Sanasarian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | – A friend and I were strolling through Tehran’s streets one afternoon when she was approached by a member of the “morality police,” an agency tasked with enforcing modesty laws in public. First, the policewoman warned her to cover her hair by pulling […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: In Widening of Social Base of Protests, Oil Workers go on Strike in Support of Youth Demonstrators

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The student protests continued in Iran on Monday, as youth rallied at the University of Shiraz and at several campuses in the capital of Shiraz. They pledged to multiply their movement every time another youth was killed. Nearly 200 people have died because of the repression of the protests according […]