On Sep. 16, Mahsa Amini was arrested by Iran’s morality police for the crime of wearing her headscarf too immodestly. Days later, she died in custody, sparking a wave of protests in the streets of Iran’s biggest cities.
While initiated by women in acts of protest that included the burning of veils and cutting of hair, resentment toward the Iranian government has been felt by all aspects of Iranian society. Since sanctions on Iran were re-imposed in 2018, the economy has been gradually crumbling with little hope for an immediate turnaround.
Iran’s oil and industrial metals, primary exports of the Iranian economy, were heavily sanctioned in 2018, limiting any significant growth level. According to the World Bank, Iran has not experienced economic growth since 2017 and has only recorded half a percentage point of growth in 2020.
In addition to crossing socio-economic and gender boundaries, the recent protests have also crossed ethnic lines as Amini was a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority. Making up 10 percent of Iran’s population, primarily located in the northwest region of the country, Kurds in Iran have also received much of the brutal crackdown in response to the protests.
As of Sep. 25, 17 people were killed in the Kurdish regions of the country. 13 Kurds were also killed in Iraqi Kurdistan following missile strikes sent into the region by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Revolutionary Guard Corps legitimized the attacks by saying that they were targeting “separatist groups” that were supporting the protests occurring within the country.
As of Sep. 29, 83 protestors have been killed according to the Norwegian-based human rights group, Iran Human Rights. Hundreds have been wounded and over 1,000 protestors were arrested by Iranian security forces, including nine foreign nationals from various European countries. 19 journalists were also arrested according to Reporters Without Borders.
In addition to arrests, the Iranian government has dramatically slowed down the nation’s internet to prevent effective communication or post updates on the recurring protests. Despite this, within a day of news of Ms. Amini’s arrest, a quarter-million Instagram users reposted and shared the story over 9 million times before the government could effectively hamper the internet’s speed.
Despite the crackdown on dissidence, protests have consistently propped up in cities throughout the country, with the phrase “Death to Dictator” being sung from the rooftops.
