People in Iran, especially school and college-going women, are at the end of their tether, protesting against the intolerant and autocratic regime continuing to trample women’s fundamental, democratic rights. The extent of the anger is such that unthinkable things are happening in that country. The latest in the series of such acts is a purported cyber attack 8 October on Iran’s state-run broadcaster when a news bulletin was interrupted by a protest against the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. In a daring act, a hacker interrupted the news broadcast and put up a mask on the screen, followed by an image of Khamenei with flames around him. The group that claims to have stunned the nation with a few seconds’ interruption called itself ‘Adalat Ali’ or ‘Ali’s Justice’.
This comes at the height of protests sweeping across 15 cities of Iran over the death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd woman who died in custody 16 September. She was detained in Tehran by police for allegedly not properly covering her hair or being lax in wearing of the hijab. The mandatory wearing of hijab is used by the regime as a symbol of its authority and Islamist religious character. Amini’s death has triggered unprecedented protests across the country and rights groups allege at least 150 protesters have been killed by security personnel during the past month.
The hacking shows how a sizable section of the tech-savvy youth in Iran is smouldering with rage against the alleged brutal killing which is being viewed not as an isolated instance, but an example of how the repressive regime deals with women on a regular basis. The common perception is that the regime has given a raw deal to the country’s women who are allowed to avail only half the rights and privileges the male population enjoys. The prime time TV news bulletin at 21:00 (17:30 GMT) was interrupted with images which included Iran’s supreme leader with a target on his head, photos of Amini and three other women killed in recent protests.
Such spectacles of revolt against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are rare as he has complete control over Iran. But, Amini’s death has acted as a spark to ignite the smouldering anger of not only the suppressed women in Iran, but also men who are disillusioned with the regime’s handling of economic ills plaguing the country.
This is clear as along with the broadcast interruption social media videos emerged the same day showing female students at a university in Tehran chanting ‘get lost’ during a visit by President Ebrahim Raisi. Earlier in the day, two people were killed in Sanandaj. A video shared online showed a woman shot in the neck lying unconscious on the ground in Mashhad.
The regime is apparently rattled by the unprecedented wave of protests causing international repercussions. After consistently repudiating the charge by Amini’s family that she had been severely tortured in custody that led to her death, the government insisted she had collapsed while she was being ‘educated’ on how to veil her hair. The narrative was given out to buttress the claim that she had previous ailment and had not been subjected to any harsh treatment. Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organisation said Amini had died from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia – and not from blows to the head. Her family said she had no previous disease.
What is worrisome for the regime is that shops in several cities have shut in support of the protesters, including in Tehran’s bazaar where some set fire to a police kiosk and chased the security forces away. This is alarming for Iranian leaders who have counted the merchants as among their supporters.
It is too early to categorise the agitation as an uprising or a revolution, a second Arab Spring, but significantly women and men have come together in protest against the social straitjacket imposed by the Iranian regime. The repression of women seems to have provided the fuse for the explosion of people’s anger at the economic crisis stoked by international sanctions. The failure of the regime to handle the crisis is being seen as its incompetence.
The silence of the ruling dispensation in India and liberals on the issue is intriguing since the country has recently witnessed a religious-political-legal battle over banning the hijab in educational institutions. More important and surprising is to note how Indian Moslems have been quiet on the Iran revolt issue. Indian Shias and Sunnis, who may be feeling their rights are being trampled upon by the government which is also mishandling the economic situation, similar to the Iranian regime’s handling of their domestic situation, may be damaging their own cause by staying quiet now. The community’s past also shows how it has never risen to the occasion and condemned extremist actions in India. Today the price it is paying and may have to keep paying for long could very well be due to this unnatural silence that creates mistrust and hatred.