"Mehnaz was too young to protest when Mahsa Amini died in police custody three years ago after she was arrested for allegedly wearing the hijab improperly. Her mother did not let her join the throngs of crowds chanting woman, life, freedom in Tehran and across the country so she could only watch at home as they were beaten back by batons and bullets."
"At least 10 people had been killed by violence surrounding the protests, with two new deaths occurring overnight. Despite my mother's fears, I joined in [on protests] on Wednesday. They execute, and arrest us anyway. So people now think, if they continue to kill us when we are not even on the streets in protest, why the fuck are we waiting for the right moment? said Mehnaz, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of repercussions."
"The demonstrations started with merchants closing their shops in protest against deteriorating economic conditions and have spread from Tehran to about 32 cities across the country. What began as a movement to express economic grievances has widened in scope, with protesters chanting against the Iranian government. Students and activists have begun chanting death to the dictator, referring to the 86-year-old supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and woman, life, freedom, echoing the 2022 protests that paralysed Iran."
Mehnaz, now 19, could not join protests three years ago after Mahsa Amini’s death because her mother kept her home. A sudden nosedive in Iran’s currency triggered renewed demonstrations as economic frustration boiled over. Protests began with merchants closing shops and spread from Tehran to about 32 cities. The movement widened from economic demands to political slogans, including 'death to the dictator' and 'woman, life, freedom,' echoing 2022 unrest. At least ten people were reported killed amid violence, with additional deaths overnight. Iran’s reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian announced he had instructed authorities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]