Another popular uprising is underway in Iran, and this time women are in the lead. It is incredibly inspiring and confusing at the same time for seeing women without veils marching in front. They have overcome fear and have challenged one of the main pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran which is the mandatory hijab.
These women march side by side with the men, singing to the whole regime. They have been bravely facing guns and bullets, still, they demand an end to a gender apartheid system.
Mahsa Amini was only 22 years old. It has not been revealed; only a few strands of her hair were visible. However, she was arrested by the police and sent to prison. She died three days later. Many Iranians believe she was killed, a belief reinforced by countless personal experiences of brutality by the security services.
The news of her death sparked outrage across Iran. Tens of thousands of protesters are now challenging the security forces to ask why an innocent young woman lost her life to religious radicals who just wanted to show off their male militant power. Mandatory hijab is not just a blanket for Iranian women; it is the most visible symbol of how oppressed we are by a tyrannical theocracy. By drawing attention to that injustice, Mahsa’s death has the potential to serve as another turning point for Iranian women.
They deserve the support of their Western counterparts. This shows that feminism is an uprising in Iran. Despite the fact that Iran is the Islamic Republic still, the wave related to women shouting for their rights can be clearly seen in the state. Yet so far we see little evidence that women in North America are willing to take to the streets to show their solidarity with a women’s revolution in Iran.
For example, when the women’s march took place in Washington DC in 2017, the slogan “My body, my choice” was being heard by women. Some women also chose to cover their face and body based on their religious or cultural beliefs, but they were pursuing their own choice, not a rule which was imposed by men on them. Yet Western women seem all too happy to succumb to the norms imposed by male tyrants in countries like Afghanistan and Iran.
In all the current happenings, women have been blaming Theocracy for women’s rights being suppressed in the state. They consider their supreme leader and superior power in Iran to be responsible for women’s oppression in the state. Iran was more secular at one time than it is now. In fact, the 1979 revolution was revolutionary precisely because it changed the relationship between the government and religion in a more fundamental way than had ever been the case since the advent of Islam.
As Raza Shah’s reign made any public display including wearing a headscarf, or hijab and illegal. After his reign ended in 1979, Iran became a theocratic state where a mutual relationship existed between government and religion. This is the main reason why feminism is an uprising in Iran. With the widespread use of social media, women are getting more awareness. They want their voices to be heard. In wake of Mahsa Amini’s death, things have taken another turn in Iran where women won’t stop raising their voices for their rights.
Moreover, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also stated that “I state it clearly that the recent riots and unrest in Iran were engineered by the US”. He blamed western propaganda behind the recent riots in Iran. It will be not wrong to say that the recent marches and moves of women in Iran signifies a Feminism uprising in the state in one way or another.
