“It’s scary, but we are making history” – this is what life is like for women in Iran right now
On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jhina Amini, fell into a coma and died just hours after Guidance Patrol – also known as 'morality police'*, a force tasked with arresting people who violate Iran's compulsory veiling laws – detained her. Her death sparked outrage across Iran, and people took to the streets to protest against the country’s draconian regime.
The fallout from Amini’s death has seen protesters publicly burning their hijabs and cutting their hair, whilst police imprison those fighting back. In an attempt to shut the protests down, the government has limited access to the internet across the country, stopping Iranians from spreading vital protest information or contacting the outside world. But, for Raha** – who has been secretly blogging on Reddit about life in Iran – nothing will get in the way of sharing this message…
The sky is dark. It’s night, but the streets are packed. Crowds moving as one, faces lit by phone screens and gunfire. Everyone is chanting: “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! We are all together!” A young woman’s voice stands out in a sea of chants. Then she stops. She’s been hit by a bullet – silenced forever.
I’ve watched protester Ghazaleh Chalabi’s last moments*** over and over again. On TikTok. On Twitter. Each time, I hope the outcome will be different, that the bullet misses, that she survives. But she never does.
Like 32-year-old Chalabi, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini. Myself included. I was angry, furious, sad and hopeless all at the same time. Knowing that one day I could leave for work and never return is scary – but the reason why, is scarier still.
The regime has trapped us all, forcing us to live by their rules. Men are struggling too, but it's women who are hit the hardest. We hear it everyday on the news. A girl murdered by her father, who walks free from punishment. A female athlete who misses her match, because she doesn’t have permission from her husband to travel. And then you have the ‘morality police’.
I’ve been stopped by the ‘morality police’ before. Harassed in the street. Harassed at school. People say that once you get in their van, you’re done. I’ve been taken to their headquarters – Vozara – to be ‘re-educated’, but it is just a place where they humiliate and degrade women. Even after I left, Vozara stuck with me. It had crawled under my skin. I can’t forget.
Because of that, women like me have always tried to keep our heads down. ‘Ignore how they control you’. We’ve tried to avoid being singled out. ‘Don’t give them a reason to arrest you.’ But now we are fighting back. Now we say “f**k you”. We are doing what’s right for us, for our country. Fighting for our freedom has taken away the fear that kept us prisoners all these years. All that I’m afraid of now is that life will go back to how it was.
But this movement is bigger than anything we’ve seen in the last 40 years. In the past, we asked for laws to be changed. We asked for those in power to listen to us. We had silent protests. Not anymore. The regime must go. Everyone is talking about the revolution. Women are walking down the street without a hijab and it is so liberating, we even pass each other notes on the bus or the metro saying: “We will win this”; “Freedom is coming”; “Your hair is so beautiful”. I’ve seen men passing these notes, too.
There’s a long way to go, but knowing we are in this together is strangely comforting. The regime has money, power, weapons. But we have unity and the strength to make a change. The question is: How long will it take? How many innocent people will be killed?
Any of us could be next – just being out on the street at the same time as a protest could get you killed. Those they capture are taken to a prison for political activists, but that doesn’t mean you’ve escaped death. Last month there was a fire at one of these prisons – reports remain unclear about how many lives were lost. Others are lucky. If you don’t have a record for previous protesting, they’ll usually let you go after a week. Or if you have enough money to pay them off and promise you won't protest again.
Thankfully, we never keep that promise. Although the regime does everything in its power to stop us – they’ve limited the internet and social media, most of the time we can only access controlled Iranian websites, and we have to swap VPNs every hour so we cannot be traced – we get back to the streets, back to our fight with banners that read: Woman. Life. Freedom.
I’ve been out on the streets myself, and with my mum – I promised her I wouldn’t go alone. She is Muslim, but even she can’t stay silent against the regime. Other women her age are tired of fighting, they have been fighting all their lives, but my mum believes we can make a change and I trust her. She supports me, but she is also fearful of what might happen.
Even if I’m not protesting, I could be hurt, arrested or even killed. The ‘morality police’ don’t hide their brutality anymore, they’re in public shouting: “We will kill however many of you are necessary to protect the Islamic republic.” It’s why some people are too afraid to go out and protest, and we understand that.
Because of that, I try to share as much as I can online. For those who can’t share their message in the streets, I will shout it to the world in whatever way I can. If the regime finds out that I’ve been sharing information online, they will arrest me and I could be held in prison for the rest of my life or worse, face execution. It’s scary, but we are making history, and the thought of freedom – of little girls at school without a hijab – drives me, and all of us, to continue. One day, we will be free.
I want the world to know that this fight is not a phase. We are trying so hard to be heard – everyone should know about the crimes this regime has committed. If you love anything good in this world, you should be fighting with us. Get out onto the streets or question your government about their involvement. Ask them to expel the ambassadors of Iran. Ask them why they allowed the regime to block COVID vaccines getting into the country. Use your privilege to help make a change. We can’t do this alone.
*On 4 December, Iran's attorney general said the country's 'morality police' were being disbanded, although this is yet to be confirmed (via BBC).
**Name changed for anonymity.
***A supposed video of Chalabi’s death was widely circulated on social media, but is currently unverified.
To help support the people of Iran, sign Amnesty International's END THE BLOODSHED IN IRAN NOW petition. By signing the petition, you'll be calling on the Iranian embassy to: Support independent, impartial, and effective investigations into the deaths and arbitrary detention of civilians, including the death of Mahsa Amini; Demand Iranian authorities urgently repeal laws that impose compulsory veiling on women and girls, perpetuate violence against them and strip them of their right to dignity and bodily autonomy; And call for the 'morality police' which enforces these abusive and discriminatory laws be abolished immediately.
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