Yahoo Autos Iran's Gen Z is fed up. The protests aren't just about hijab, they're about regime change.
Those are the words Iranian women have been chanting during protests against their government for the past several weeks. Used by Kurdish female soldiers in their fight against the Islamic State terrorist group, these words also define the very essence of the ongoing protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran that at minimum say women demand a life of freedom.
These protests are in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, from Iran’s Kurdistan region. In the capital city of Tehran to visit family, Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 by the morality police for “wearing inappropriate clothing.” This police group patrols public spaces looking for people – especially women – who violate the norms of “public decency” with their clothing, haircuts, behavior and “bad” hair coverings. Amini died in custody after spending three days in a coma.
Amini’s death comes from the intensification of repressive state policies under President Ebrahim Raisi's administration. It recently announced the intention to aggressively target women not in “modest dress” or in “bad makeup.” The police tend to monitor and more strictly enforce regulations in places with a higher percentage of poor, ethnic, or religious women.
An end to morality police
Iranian women and their allies have called for an end to the morality police and the very system that upholds it. In alleyways, up and down highways and everywhere in between, protesters can be heard also chanting “death to the dictator.” This new generation has gone as far as to cross another red line and repeatedly declare, “I don’t want an Islamic Republic!” Fearless, women stand atop cars burning their headscarves while others cut their hair in public.
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They have done so because the Islamic Republic has spent the past four decades controlling the female body as a misplaced metaphor for nationalist and cultural pride. Controlling women’s bodies has gone on long enough. Generation Z, which the Pew Research Center defines as born from 1997 through 2012, has decided to act.
Pivotally, today’s Gen Z protesters are more radical and angrier than their “reform”-minded predecessors. The 2009 Green Movement was largely composed of middle-class Tehranis, often educated in Europe, who had much to lose. Also, their parents and even the Green Movement politicians told them to be patient.
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The movement was about reform. One revolution was enough. Parents lectured their children on their errors, how much Iran lost (almost everything) because of 1979. They pointed to the country’s neighbors (in Iraq and Afghanistan) who were dying, saying Iranians shouldn’t join them. They then pointed out that the whole Middle East was on fire and burning (Arab Spring 2011-14) and that Iran should not burn, too. At least Iranians were safe, the adage went. The previous generation tried to make headway through advocating reforms, but many lost friends and family members.
