Is the regime collapsing? Protests against Iranian authorities will soon enter their fourth week following the death of Mahsa Amini. Now teenage schoolgirls are stepping up to call for change.
Iran schoolgirls overwhelm feared police boss
Is the regime collapsing? Protests against Iranian authorities will soon enter their fourth week following the death of Mahsa Amini. Now teenage schoolgirls are stepping up to call for change.
<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Persia-suasive?</h2>
"You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipationThe process of being set free. of women."
These were the last words of Tahirih, an iconic Persian poet and feminist activist.
She was executed in the middle of the 19th Century in Tehran after attending a conference in the village of Badasht, where she removed her veil in public.
Exactly 170 years after the murder of Tahirih, women in Tehran and beyond are again taking off their veils publicly and even burning them in protest against authorities. The demonstrations are entering their fourth week following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.1
Among dozens of deaths, injuries and arrests, Gen ZShort for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. schoolgirls have become the heroes at the forefront of the movement.
One video, supposedly filmed in Shiraz, shows a classroom of courageous teenage girls waving their headscarves in the air whilst yelling "get lost, Basiji" at a representative of Iran's deeply feared paramilitaryAn unofficial group organised like a military force. BasijA paramilitary volunteer group established in Iran in 1979. force.
Other schoolgirls in Iran are shown in clips and images removing their head coverings and chanting slogans such as "death to the dictator" and "woman, life, freedom".
Their protests have not been without tragedy. Numerous young teenagers have died at the hands of authorities. The average age of those arrested is now 15.
This brutalityGreat cruelty and violence. will surprise nobody. It is typical of Iran's rulers. But some argue that this new wave has more chances of success due to its younger participants and more equal structure.
In addition, in recent years other teenage girls like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai have caused major social progress.
Some may be pessimisticTending to believe that the worst will happen. about shifting views in the deeply patriarchalA society in which adult men have a monopoly on power. In these societies, men tend to hold all political positions, and women and children are also expected to obey the men in their families. society of Iran, but others are listening to the words of Tahirih almost two centuries after her death.
Yes: Nobody expected this movement to last as long as it has, but it goes from strength to strength. Despite the terror sparked by the authorities, even teenage girls, those most at risk, are continuing to fight.
No: History shows us that protests in Iran are just facing too much opposition to make real progress. The society is divided, with urban centres and rural areas at odds with each other on cultural values. The protests will not take off.
Or... It remains to be seen whether these protests will be successful. In the meantime, Iranians need all of the support they can get from the rest of the world, particularly the West.
Emancipation - The process of being set free.
Gen Z - Short for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Paramilitary - An unofficial group organised like a military force.
Basij - A paramilitary volunteer group established in Iran in 1979.
Brutality - Great cruelty and violence.
Pessimistic - Tending to believe that the worst will happen.
Patriarchal - A society in which adult men have a monopoly on power. In these societies, men tend to hold all political positions, and women and children are also expected to obey the men in their families.
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Is the regime collapsing? </strong></h5>
Iran schoolgirls overwhelm feared police boss

Glossary
Emancipation - The process of being set free.
Gen Z - Short for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Paramilitary - An unofficial group organised like a military force.
Basij - A paramilitary volunteer group established in Iran in 1979.
Brutality - Great cruelty and violence.
Pessimistic - Tending to believe that the worst will happen.
Patriarchal - A society in which adult men have a monopoly on power. In these societies, men tend to hold all political positions, and women and children are also expected to obey the men in their families.