Issue and Opponent: Protests erupted across Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini’s death on September 16, following her arrest by morality policy for “improperly” wearing her headscarf. Since then, many groups have taken to the streets to protest for women’s rights, especially young girls. The Middle East nation has seen mass anti-regime protests nationwide in September and October 2022.
Dilemma Action: Schoolgirls have emerged as a powerful force after videos went viral of classrooms of pupils waving their hijabs in the air, taking down pictures of Iran’s supreme leaders, and shouting anti-regime slogans in support of Mahsa Amini. Dozens of videos posted online show schoolgirls protesting in their schools and the streets, chanting, waving, and burning their head coverings. Yet the deadly repression appears to have fueled outrage among the younger population. Videos circulated on social media show that in Saqez, the home of Mahsa Amini, scores of schoolgirls marched through the streets in protest, while girls in Karaj crowded a man, evidently an official, out of their school gate, chanting “Dishonorable.” In another video posted on Twitter, schoolgirls remove their head coverings and chant against a man who appears to be a member of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force that is part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who had come to the school to speak about the Mahsa Amini protests. In a country where expressing autonomy as a woman can result in death, the actions of these schoolgirls to demand freedom and equality is heart-stoppingly brave. The message also included Iranian women in the country and around the world, not only schoolgirls.
Outcome: The Iranian authorities responded by launching a series of raids on schools across the country last week, with reports of officers forcing their way into classrooms, violently arresting schoolgirls and pushing them into waiting cars, and firing teargas into school buildings. No concessions were made for them. Nika Shakarami was 16 when she burned her headscarf at a Tehran protest. She was last seen alive on September 20 being followed by security forces. The government claims she fell from a building, the same fate as another protester, Sarina Esmailzadeh, also 16, who allegedly fell to her death in Karaj, west of the capital on September 24. According to media reports, both families were pressured not to contradict the official story. At least 23 minors were killed by the unlawful use of force during the protests between September 20 and 30, but they continue to protest against the regime.