Diaries of Iranian Revolution 1401: A fight for Women-Life-Freedom
Welcome to the diaries of a journalist telling the tales of a revolution called women-life-freedom from Iran. I will give an account of unfolding events in Iran on a podcast on a weekly basis and here you can read the text. This was long overdue as we are almost 90 days into making a dream of the Iranian nation reality. I will cover occurrences that formerly transpired, as well as the context for the stories.
We are 14 weeks into unrest which has turned into a full-fledged revolution. The uprising started following national rage caused by the death of Mahsa Amini- a 22-year-old Kurd native- in the hands of “morality police” for wearing “unsuitable attire”.
I dare to call it the Iranian Renaissance as radical changes in ideas about religion are particularly evident in every facet of social change we experience. protesters defy not only state government directives, but also show disregard for the sharia law of Islam at every chance they find. women refuse to wear headscarves on the streets, families refrain from reading the Quran during the funeral of martyrs, and some don’t even hold Islamic prayers for their deceased. Instead, they sing folklore songs and release white doves.
Iranians have started resurrecting traditions and reviving symbols which date back to times before the Muslim conquest of Persia during which the Arab invasion led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
protesters dance around fires, women cut off their long locks as a display of rage and grief which is an ancient tradition not practised in decades; while many others carry sigils of ancient Persia. the indigenous movement carries elements of ancient Persian mythologies such as Derafsh Kaviani. it was the legendary royal flag of Iran before Arabs invaded Persia 700 years ago and ever since it had not been seen on the shoulders of men and women across this land. The flag was also the standard of a mythological Persian blacksmith-turned-hero named Kaveh, who led a popular uprising against the foreign tyrannical ruler Zahhak.
it feels as if the voices of our ancestors rhyme into our ears across the veil of centuries waking up a dream within us. Although this may all sound poetic and intellectual, in reality, we live in a madman’s dream.
This week started with the ominous execution of a 23 yr old protester called Mohsen Shekari, in Tehran and continued with having another 23 yr old protester named Majid Reza Rahnavard hanged in public in the City of Mashhad. The body of Donya Farhadi, a 21-year-old student, was found on the shores of the Karoon river. The dead body of Aida Rostami, a young doctor who visited injured protesters at their homes, was handed over to her family by the police as she sustained a crushed face, a broken hand, and a stitched left eyelid.
During the onslaught of bad news, the only good we heard was that 2 teenage protesters were bailed out. When Sonia Sharifi, a 16-year-old teenager, in Ilam was released the people of the city of Abdanan received and celebrated her like a hero. Amirhossein Rostami a 15 yr old protester has also been released while he still had pellets in his head and body.
Public outrage and protests continued this week in various manners. the discontent was displayed through demonstrations, strikes, honourable vandalism, boycotting brands affiliated with the regime, denying cooperation with state agencies, street art, and most importantly digital fights.
Artists continued turning fountains, wall paintings, and statues of regimes icons blood red to reflect the brutal crackdown on protesters. During evenings people chant anti-regime slogans from rooftops, and student strikes and demonstrations at universities of many big and small cities persist.
The most powerful sphere in which Iranian civil society thrives in is the digital sphere. Within social media platforms, particularly Instagram; ideas are disseminated, dialogues are exchanged, arguments are shaped and discourse is developed.
This week the trending topic was an outcry in desperation for attention and action from human rights organisations and western governments to punish the Islamic republic regime for the violation of human rights.
During the past 90 days, the Iranian diaspora has made unprecedented efforts to raise attention to the tragedies and atrocities occurring in Iran. Tens of thousands of Iranians attended rallies in the capitals of the world from Toronto and Berlin to, Paris and Washington. Hundreds of emails were despatched by Iranians of dual citizenship to their MPs as well as international human rights organizations. even celebrities and influencers of all nationalities pledged support for the Iranian movement. They became the voices of Iranians who were cut off from the rest of the world as access to the internet was limited by the government.
80 MPs from Germany, Austria, Sweden, and some other European countries sponsored Iranian protesters in danger of execution. most importantly, the Islamic Republic regime of Iran was ousted from the UN’s women’s rights commission on Wednesday.
However, demands to expel Iran’s ambassadors from the G7 countries have remained unanswered so far despite one million signings of a petition.
On an economic note, this week Gold and currency recorded an all-new all-time high. Rumours have it that an estimated amount of 62 to 76 tons of gold from Iran’s reserve was melted to mint coins and sold at an astronomical price to the public. It is to cover the Bank deficit worth 260 billion Tomans which is equal to around 63 million dollars which were lost due to embezzlement.
To take revenge, the Iranian public launched a campaign to withdraw money from banks and close their accounts to bankrupt the government even more.
However, the government’s bankruptcy doesn’t end here as water and gas shortages are becoming an increasing problem for national security. This week we received an SMS from the government which asked citizens to take measures to reduce their water consumption. it was announced that only less than 30 per cent of the total capacity of dams is full. Gas shortages are also a concern as this week the Supreme National Security Council issued a resolution calling for dealing with high-consumption subscribers.
Another important piece of news is that the supreme leader ordered the establishment of the fourth intelligence service this week. As the sociopolitical fabric of the country deteriorates, the number of security institutions increases, but fortunately, there is no improvement in the quality of their work as they are all failures. There used to be only one Ministry of Intelligence, but in 2008, the IRGC Intelligence Agency was promoted to the IRGC Intelligence Organisation. The Faraja Intelligence Organisation was launched last year under the police force, and now the order has been issued to launch the Judiciary Intelligence Organisation.
That’s all folks!
Thank you for joining me. Please do come back next Saturday to hear about another week in Iran.
