The protests in Iran

Protests in Iran continue over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in custody of the Islamic Republic’s morality police. She was detained for allegedly failing to cover all her hair with a hijab.

The women-led demonstrations have rocked the regime and have spread across the country to 80 cities, with thousands of citizens taking to the streets. But the response from security forces has been brutal, with dozens of demonstrators killed and hundreds arrested.

Today, we’ll look at why Amini’s death prompted country-wide protests, the government’s violent crackdown, where it all might be leading and what the international community can do.

Guests

FIROOZEH KASHANI-SABET,Professor of history and the author Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran, and the novel Martyrdom Street

ROYA HAKAKIAN, author and writer whose books include the memoir, Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran and A Beginner’s Guide to America.

We recommend

The Atlantic, The Bonfire of the Headscarves, “For Iran’s protesters, the fight for women’s freedom of choice is now synonymous with a desire to end the rule of the ayatollahs.”

NPR, Around the world, protesters take to the streets in solidarity with Iranian women – “In Kabul last week, about 30 women in headscarves protested outside the Iranian embassy chanting, “Women, life, freedom,” according to Voice of America.”

The Washington Post, Women are leading a revolution in Iran. When will Western feminists help? “These women are marching shoulder to shoulder with men, chanting against the whole regime. They are facing guns and bullets and demanding an end to a system of gender apartheid.”