Carson Bonner, Campus Carrier deputy news editor
Years of tension and oppression of women in Iran have erupted in protests following the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police on Sept. 16. For the last two weeks, women have been protesting their oppression, lack of rights and the strict morality and hijab laws.
Amini’s death has been viewed as the catalyst of these protests. She was arrested by the morality police, law enforcement responsible for enforcing modesty rules in public environments, for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. In detainment, she was severely beaten and was hospitalized, where she was comatose for two days up to her death, an accurate narrative that conflicts with the story shared by the police, who said she had sudden heart failure when she was in their custody.
“Amini wasn’t an activist, she was a 22 year old girl who did nothing but wear her hijab too loose,” Kelsey Rice, assistant professor of history, said. “That’s what so much of these protests have been about; it isn’t just about wearing head coverings, it’s about the culmination of injustice and civil unrest that’s really been building.”
Beginning in Iranian Kurdistan, the home of Amini, and continuing to spread through the rest of Iran, women and men of all ages have been demonstrating their discontentment and unwillingness to stand for patriarchal driven oppression. According to Rice, students have also been joining the protests, something that was almost unheard of in historical Iranian protests. No matter the demographic, though, the protestors are all calling out the same thing.
“The phrase being shouted is ‘death to the dictator,” Rice said. “It’s speaking against the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the religious head of all things political. He made his first public statement basically blaming Israel and the United States for the attacks and also signaling for a harsher crackdown on the protestors, much like the statements that have been made by President Ebrahim Raisi.”
The Grand Ayatollah is considered the supreme leader of Iran. He controls the laws put in place by the government from a religious persoective and is therefore a symbol and source of the oppression and inequality that women have been experiencing in Iran since he came into power in 1989. The call for his death is not merely a literal call for his power to end, but also representative of the entire system that has oppressed Iranians.
The Iranian government ensures that the theocratic side of the government has almost complete control over elections and over the political side. Raisi was heavily endorsed by the theocracy in the previous election and is heavily condemning the protests, while continuing to support the role and actions of the morality police, especially their enforcement of modesty laws for women.
“Their country is built on this idea that women don’t have the right to do a number of things and they have to cover themselves,” Susan Conradsen, associate professor of psychology and director of women’s and gender studies, said. “In certain extreme types of government where there is such heavy control, you see that the primary object of control is women. So you have these morality police who can see you being unwilling to conform and they can take you and punish you and then beat you for it.”
A large part of the basis for their control comes from religious justification. According to Jeffrey Lidke, professor of religious studies, Iran is deeply entrenched in androcentric patriarchal standards, meaning Iranian society is centered around men being the leading figures and dictating the standards women must follow, whether those be established through their own personal interpretation of the Quran or simply through their ability as men to make laws of their preference.
“In societies where religion and government are inseparable, they are capable of being egalitarian, like in Tibet and Bhutan, ” Lidke said. “There can be a blend of religion and politics where we don’t see these patterns [like in Iran] as strongly, so we can’t say this problem is universal. However in Indo-Aryan societies that have carried religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, it certainly has not been uncommon. It also depends on how conservative these societies are, especially concerning their beliefs on gender..”
Although in other countries with Islam as their primary belief system, women are less limited in their roles as citizens, Iran’s highly conservative interpretation of the Quran places women in a position of servitude and submission. Across the country, women have been burning their hijabs and displaying that they will not be forced into these roles.
“Some women wear head coverings as a personal choice or religious beliefs,” Rice said. “For them, it’s just a part of being modest and what they believe. Taking off their hijab would be like taking off their shirts. But those women are still participating in protests. The headscarves themselves are not the problem; the lack of choice and freedom is what they are fighting for. Women want to be able to make the decision for themselves and not have it made for them by a patriarchal government that doesn’t have their best interest in mind.”
As the protests have continued, college campuses have become epicenters of large protests. Sharif University of Technology has been under siege after a demonstration in response to the death of Amini. In the last several days, police have been using tear gas, firing rubber bullets at students and beating them as they have clashed with the protestors. Students have continued to resist amid chants of “Independence, freedom, death to Khamenei.”
“While colleges are usually active spots for protests, we are also seeing high school kids joining protests as well,” Rice said. “It’s one thing to see a 22 year old protesting, but it’s another thing entirely to see a high school shouting ‘death to the dictator.’ It sends a powerful image and is largely a reason for why Iran is trying so hard to stop the release of footage of the protests.”
Amid these protests, Iran has attempted to shut down the internet and stop any news, social media or other communication from traveling both within and outside of the country. However, satellite internet has allowed videos and news to be publicized and for the story to be shared as the protests continue.
“Having such a spotlight on the protests is part of what is fueling them,” Rice said. “We can watch them happen in real time all over the world. World leaders like the Biden administration have been condemning the Iranian government and supporting the protests, and everyone watching is hoping for a positive outcome.”
Though this is not the Iranian citizens’ first attempt at a revolution, its own people and onlookers around the world are hoping it will be what it takes to make a change.
“As far as the change goes, I certainly hope this will follow the pattern of protest and revolution that occurred elsewhere, even here in the United States,” Lidke said. “Sometimes these theocratic societies crack down harshly on events like this, but we can hope for an outcome in favor of the protestors and for a positive change in Iran.”