Women in Iran Dream of a Liberated Future

For more than two weeks, protests have spread around Iran, with women leading the way. They have been battling for their fundamental liberties.

In the 1980s, a campaign of widespread arrests and killings was launched in response to post-revolutionary dissent. Six days of student protests in 1999 resulted in thousands of arrests, as well as numerous people going missing, being hurt, or even dying.

Neda Agha-Soltan was one of the fatalities in 2009. Her shooting death became a symbol of the government’s violence, fuelling the protests.

History

Women in Iran continued to protest against the regime’s requirement that they wear the hijab. It was frequently a loud yet understated protest that was shown by wearing their head covering loosely and allowing some hair to show.

It is difficult to comprehend the scope of their opposition from across the globe and the government’s harsh repression campaign. Limited, VPN-supported Internet access and a media blackout restrict access to both sets of records.

Nevertheless, despite the crackdown, fresh forms of dissent emerge daily. Social media feeds have been displaying how schoolgirls have taken control of the revolution since October 3.

Protests

Iran’s four million-strong diaspora is fascinated on the country’s four million citizens’ fight from afar via social media, phone calls, and text messages on messaging apps as Iranians within the country approach their fifth week of protesting the regime.

They are fixated on their bravery and apparent audacity as they demand very un-audacious things like the right to own their own bodies, to live in a nation where their mothers don’t feel pressured to put their own lives in danger so their daughters can live more freely, and the freedom to dress however they want for breakfast.