Shiites

Review of Mehran Kamrava, Triumph and Despair: In Search of Iran’s Islamic Republic (London: Hurst and Co., 2022). Barcelona (Special to Informed Comment) – During the last three months, Iran has been a main focus of international media attention due to the ongoing anti-government protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old […]

Authoritarianism

Social Media shows Iranian Crowds setting fire to Khomeini’s House, in Generational Rejection of Islamic Republic

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Reuters reports that social media sites carried video allegedly from Thursday night in the small town of Khomein in Iran, which appeared to show protesters setting fire to the childhood home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khomeini died in 1989. The house had […]

Authoritarianism

In New Tactic, Young Iranian Protesters Knock Off Clerics’ Turbans On The Street

Golnaz Esfandiari

By Golnaz Esfandiari and Hamid Fatemi | – ( RFE/RL ) – Nationwide antiestablishment protests have raged across the Islamic republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died on September 16 shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law on women’s dress. As the authorities have waged a […]

Feminism

Iran: Protesters call for Move to a non-religious State. What Changes would that Bring?

The Conversation

By Hossein Dabbagh, University of Oxford | – My friend was in Tehran during protests after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police (Gasht-e Ershad). My friend went into a grocery shop intending to buy milk. The seller refused to sell anything to her. “Why are you refusing?” she […]

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 […]

Development

Bohra Muslim digital Entrepreneurship shows how religious Communities can help Women Thrive

The Conversation

By Arwa Hussain, Concordia University | – (The Conversation) – Women from religious communities around the world, like the Dawoodi Bohras, are harnessing the potential of social media platforms to set up or expand their businesses and build entrepreneurial networks. The ease of access, wide reach and collaborative nature of these platforms is providing more […]

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

3 ways these latest Iran Demonstrations are different from past Protests

The Conversation

By Naser Ghobadzadeh, Australian Catholic University | – Once again, Iran is in the midst of political upheaval and civil unrest. The latest protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police, follow several other protests that have occurred in Iran over recent years. So what is new […]

Feminism

Iranian women have been rebelling against restrictions since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 – with renewed hope that protests this time will end differently

The Conversation

By Pardis Mahdavi, The University of Montana | – Shouts of “death to the dictator” and “woman, life, freedom” are reverberating throughout the streets of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, while in custody of the “morality police” in Tehran. These protests have echoes from past resistance movements. For the past […]