What’s Happening in Iran
A bird’s eye view on the news in Iran and a DoSomething personal connection
By now, you’ve probably heard or seen news of the protests in Iran and you may be asking yourself, “What exactly is going on?” International news can be heavy–and it’s a lot to carry when we aren’t able to see how it impacts our day-to-day lives.
So, what’s going on?
Since September 2022, demonstrations and protests have been ongoing in Iran after Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old woman, died following her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab. The subsequent news that followed her death enraged Iranians, leading to demands for more social freedoms and to overthrow the state. While protestors of all age, gender, and background have joined the demonstrations, it’s mainly led by young people.
How did we get here?
Deep-seated resentments over the Iranian government’s policies have been percolating. Tensions were heightened in 2021 when Ebrahim Raisi became president, enforcing stricter policing of women’s dress. Factor in Iran’s failing economy and the inequalities felt among Iranians amplified frustrations.
Why it matters?
As of December 2022, at least 458 people, including 63 children, have been killed and several hundred injured, according to the US-based Iran Human Rights Activists News Agency and more than 18,000 people have been detained. And while the unrest in Iran began with Amini’s death, there is now a call to overthrow the Iranian government altogether.
We invited Yasmine Mahdavi, DoSomething’s Director of Impact & Analysis, to reflect on her connection to Iran, her country of birth, and share her thoughts on the ongoing protests. Yasmine’s civic journey has been anchored by Kahlil Gibran’s, the Lebanese American writer and poet, quote “We are limited not by our abilities, but by our vision.” And here she challenges you to think about your role in making a difference in the world.
The 1979 Iranian revolution – which overthrew the ham-fisted monarchy and instated an authoritarian theocracy – and the subsequent eight-year war with Iraq changed my life. I was young, so my recollections of the revolution are hazy. Murmurs about a “coup d’état” were heard after another government official was ousted. My memories of the war are more vivid. Our apartment windows were taped with newspaper to protect us from the flying shrapnel and broken glass that resulted from bomb raids.
After the revolution, the Islamic Republic made donning the hijab (a veil covering a woman’s head) compulsory. And the morality police brutally enforced the law. It wasn’t unusual for me to hear the number of lashes a woman could receive if she didn’t cover “properly”. I remember asking my pious nanny, whose henna-colored hair peeked out from under her hijab, why the Christian and Muslim God (whom I had been taught were one and the same) had different rules about who covered their hair. Her response, “Child, God is the light inside you”, sparked my civic path: that living a virtuous life isn’t anchored by interpretations subject to person, place, or time, but rooted in purpose and courage. I carried this motto with me as my family and I immigrated to the U.S.
Decades after the revolution, on September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian, an ethnic minority in Iran, was arrested–as had thousands of other young women before her–by Iran’s morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly. Three days later she died in police custody. The government said she died of pre-existing conditions or “underlying diseases''. Mahsa’s family said she was beaten, and her head struck multiple times.
Mahsa’s death sparked, shoulder to shoulder, protests across Iran, Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Chants of “woman, life, freedom” still continue to jolt cities across Iran. Her death ignited the smoldering resentment and deep frustration of the Iranian people with the government and its inability to address the country’s profound and widespread economic woes.
From the hard-won freedoms I cherish in my adopted country, my heart breaks for the young people who have taken to the streets. They risk injury, arrest, torture, and execution. Hundreds have died. Thousands have been detained. Their fate is unknown.
But the ongoing protests and the bloody response to them aren’t just about enforcing draconian social controls: what women can or cannot wear, or Mahsa’s death. They’re also about squashing dissent by any means, and the solidarity the world has shown for freedom of expression, as also observed recently in China and Peru.
Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese American writer and poet, wrote “We are limited not by our abilities, but by our vision.” In his remark, I see the courage, purpose, and devotion young Iranians have demonstrated to the world. The stakes are high. The life they imagine for themselves and the risks they endure to achieve it should inspire all of us, not just as individuals but as members of society.
In the words of Iranian-born Nobel Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, “Democracy is like a flower. You must give it water and sun daily.” The struggles that Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. endured show us that change doesn’t happen overnight. But with perseverance and bravery we must dare to participate.
How will you use this experience as a mirror to see yourself and a window to see how others live? Take a seat at the table, however way that looks for you. Don’t tie your actions to a single event – but let it fuel you for the justices you want to see in the world.
Excerpts from Yasmine’s book, Roots in Iran: Stories of Visionary Women, have been incorporated in this article.
So, what can we do about it?
When news like this is shared, it’s easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed. However, there are tangible actions you can take right now that will make a difference.
- Share this article with friends and family. By doing so, you’ll help build awareness and educate the people around you with factual information–and a personal story–about why what is happening in Iran is so important.
- Write to your representatives asking them to support Iranian women’s rights publicly. Use your voice to write to your leaders and show that this is an issue that matters to you–and that you demand they take a stand as well. You can find your elected officials by visiting house.gov/representatives and senate.gov.
- Follow what’s happening. The youth-led organization Middle East Matters is amplifying stories of human rights violations in the Middle East and when protests are happening globally that you can take part in.
- If able, make a donation. There are many notable and reputable organizations you can donate to, who are doing work to support Iranian women and minorities oppressed by the current leadership.
Make a difference in your community and add your vision to the future of our democracy