Iran; The Third Revolution

Negin Moayer is an Iranian immigrant, architect, Chicago resident, and business owner. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Over the past three months under the watchful eye of the international press and spread by social media, the Iranian nation has erupted in potentially groundbreaking protest with the whole world watching. The entire global community has witnessed the utmost bravery of the women and girls in face of the brutal Islamic regime as they challenged a core tenet of the fundamentalist government: the mandatory Hijab. We in the Iranian diaspora, glued to our phone screens day and night, watched in shock and disbelief as the Iranian police and paramilitary groups crushed the uprising following the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman killed while in police custody on Sept. 16. Per human rights groups claims, police have killed over 500 protesters so far both in the streets or in their custody, and more than 60 of them were children.

Although the press provided extensive coverage of the current protests and raised global awareness about the murder of Mahsa Amini and the ensuing protests, the coverage has at times distorted the truth about the morality police or failed to provide sufficient context. Regardless of the motivations behind any inaccuracies, we must correct these portrayals of the movement to properly illustrate this critical moment for the public eye. Those of us who were born and raised in Iran with family ties back home have not only the ability but the responsibility to inform the rest of the world. As a woman who spent first half of my life in Iran, I feel the need to clarify the past, present, and future for all non-Iranians.

Many of those who have never lived in an Islamic fundamentalist state cannot wrap their heads around Iran’s legal requirement that women wear a Hijab. Although Iran is a majority Shia Muslim country, the Hijab has not always been mandatory by the government. Ayatollah Khomeini enshrined the Hijab requirement into law in the early 1980s immediately after the Iranian revolution in 1979. When the theocratic regime took power, it established certain new rules and regulations based on Islamic ideology to solidify its grasp on political control and legitimacy. The regulations faced pushback from the civil society, mostly women. In September 1980, the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq distracted the national dialogue, uniting the people behind a common enemy and pushing to the side the necessary reforms in the aftermath of the revolution. The Iran and Iraq war lasted longer than expected, with many observers blaming the Iranian regime for continuing hostilities as a tool to maintain the society’s unification in face of the enemy next door. The prolonged war exacerbated the political and economic turmoil, further distracting from necessary reforms and diminishing the movement’s resistance to the establishment of the Islamic laws, including the mandatory Hijab. After the war ended and during the reconstruction era, again the regime succeeded in swaying the general focus away from social justice and equality, by positioning Hijab as a way to pay tribute and respect to the martyrs of the war. Social activists postponed their demands for social rights during the economically weakened post-war era, but soon after, campaigns by women’s rights activists confronted the regime’s discriminatory laws related to gender. An example is the One Million Signatures campaign, which failed to gain traction due to the regime’s propaganda, push backs, threats, and crack downs.

The concept of a “morality police” strikes most outsiders as so foreign that only members of the diaspora can truly paint a sufficient picture. President Ahmadinejad established the Morality Police in their current form as an official arm of the police force in 2005. As the name implies, they enforce compliance with the Islamic “moral” law and social behavior, including the proper dress code for women, and impose punishment upon non-compliance through fines and arrests. However, state action regarding women’s clothing and strict adherence to Islamic code harkens back to the early days of the Islamic revolution in 1979. The leaders of the revolution formed Militia forces under the name of Islamic Revolution Committees to socially cleanse the country from slightest indications of non-Islamic social behavior. The regime viewed any lingering secular actions as remnants of the pre-revolution monarchial and westernized era. The newly constituted forces patrolled streets and public spaces, public and private workplaces, and schools to enforce Islamic dress code for women. This early incarnation even targeted men’s clothing that resembled that of western countries, such as shorts or t-shirts with English language writing.

Although the Morality Police has changed names and appearances since the early days of Islamic revolution, the ideology and conduct remains the same. A simple internet search might retrieve images of made-up girls strolling in high-end streets of Tehran; however, they run the risk of arrest by the Morality Police solely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mahsa Amini, dressed in the full body covering black overall dress, showed only a few strands of hair, happened to be in just that wrong place and time when she was arrested and brutally murdered.

While those of us in the diaspora may have strong opinions as to the future of the country, we must also consider what the people of Iran want for their country. In the past four decades, Iranian people have been consistent in demanding their social rights, with little to no meaningful response from the government. There had been numerous attempts for reforms by many activist groups and more moderate government officials, and it has always been the hardliner Islamic fundamentalist members of the leadership who prevailed. With Mahsa Amini’s murder while in police custody, the protesters seem to have given up hope for any meaningful reform that acknowledges their basic rights as human beings, let alone social rights as ordinary citizens from the current regime. They see the regime as not only incapable of managing a reasonable economy to fulfill basic human needs, but also unwilling to respect citizens’ social rights, such as gender equality. Now and in the aftermath of the unrest and further state-sponsored murders, their demands have evolved from freedom and equality for women, to a comprehensive desire for basic human rights. The people of Iran, exhausted and disgusted by the corruption and mismanagement of the current theocratic regime, seek to install a secular democratic government, which they see as the only viable solution. Reform will not satisfy the current uprising. Only a Revolution will, the third for the nation in modern history. (The first one is the Persian Constitutional Revolution between 1905 and 1911, which resulted in establishment of the parliament. The second one is Islamic Revolution in 1979, which resulted in establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.)

Naturally, the international community looks on with concern, but what steps can those outside the country take? When it comes to reporting on Iran, journalistic accuracy and honesty must play a critical role to prevent delegitimization of their movement. Journalists and news agencies’ recent interpretations of the movement have at times rung dishearteningly shortsighted and inaccurate. The New York Times recently published a piece regarding speculation on the abolition of the Morality Police. This news quoted a government official simply shrugging the problem off, without confirming any meaningful change to the systemic crackdown on women defying the mandatory Hijab. Even after the Times updated the story the headline, they still provided a misleading interpretation of the story. Unfortunately, when major news agencies publish without sufficient due diligence, observers must question the publication’s motives. This is a turning point for the people of Iran, and they are hoping for timely responses and honest journalism to raise awareness on their endeavor globally.

Policymakers and activists should consider cutting political ties between Iranian regime and other nations, including expelling diplomats, recalling ambassadors, calling out the Iranian regime’s militia as a terrorist group, and refraining from entering any political or economic deals that legitimize the current regime. While critical, these can all lead to further isolating the people as well as the regime. Similar to the numerous existing sanctions on Iran, the result will not limit the regime’s access to resources, but such steps will significantly diminish economic opportunity for the citizens of Iran. Any further policy, including sanctions, requires careful consideration, so as not to harm the people of Iran. So, while countries may recall their ambassadors, embassies should remain active so Iranian people can stay connected with the world.

The Iranian people ultimately desire the right to a secular democratic government replacing the current regime, a holistic government overhaul and constitutional reform. It will help Iran thrive and contribute to the world peace by ending the proxy wars in the Middle East and maintaining healthy and fruitful political and economic relationships with their neighbors and the rest of the world. For that, the Iranian people need global support and true acknowledgement of their revolution.