Fourteen women in Iran have released a declaration calling for
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, to step down. Some see the group
as the start of a new citizens' rights movement.
"We know that we will pay for it, but prison and torture
are not alien to us. For the last 40 years, we have been experiencing inhuman
discrimination against women, and that is why we do not want to live any longer
under a regime that has held half of the society hostage to a medieval,
gender-based apartheid," lawyer and signatory Giti Pourfazel said.
In
the declaration, which was released last week, women from several cities in
Iran also demanded the end of the Iranian government, a new constitution and
the establishment of a secular state.
Declaration widely circulated
The
document found many supporters and was widely shared on social media.
Many Iranian women's rights activists and famous artists, authors and human
rights advocates abroad offered their support for the women.
Two
months ago, 14 other Iranian activists wrote an open letter to the supreme
leader saying, "The catastrophic, dark chapter of the last 40 years has
proven to the people of our country that power structures and political rulers
cannot be reformed in any manner." The group also demanded Khamenei's
resignation.
A new movement with new role models
Observers in Iran have already talked about the formation of a
new movement separate from old political traditions and groups, especially from
the so-called reformist politicians and their policies, which have lost all
credibility in the eyes of many people.
Mohammed
Mohebi, a political scientist and journalist from Tehran, spoke to two
activists who signed the letter to Khamenei. He said, "Except for a
couple of older names, the new movement does not have any familiar faces. And
that is important. We need new role models for a society that has enormous
potential for change."
Mohebi said he is excited about the movement.
"It
is a fantastic, courageous, transparent and peaceful initiative that does not
belong to any political front," he said. "One could call it the birth
of a new consciousness among citizens: a collective consciousness, which can
potentially develop into a big movement quite fast."
Lack of economic prospects
Mohebi
recalled protests in December 2017 and the beginning of January 2018 and
spread across the country with lightning speed. At the time, the slogans
targeted the economic policies of President Hassan Rouhani's government, but it
did not take long for the demonstrations to target the Iranian state's entire
leadership. The country's miserable economic situation was one of the key
reasons behind the street protests.
In
February 2019, teachers went out on the streets complaining about the
country's poor economic situation.
In the meantime, economic conditions have dramatically worsened.
Iran is under massive pressure from sanctions following Washington's
termination of the nuclear deal and tensions have increased with Saudi Arabia
over regional influence. Inflation has gone up to 40%. Food and medicines
are getting more expensive by the day and houses have become unaffordable.
Unemployment has skyrocketed.
Repression on the rise
The
government's answer: more repression in daily life — especially against
women. Every woman who, according to the law enforcers, does not wear the
hijab "properly" can be photographed. The photos are sent to the
religious police, who administer harsh punishment.
In
the light of increased repression of women, Mohebi asked the activists:
"Are you not afraid of prison or torture? They answered, 'We have been
living in a prison for a long time!'"
Their
action, and the potential for a new social movement, can be explained by the
fact that many people in Iran do not have anything to lose, according to
Mohebi.
Especially
women who, in the eyes of conservatives, dress in a
"modern" way or do not wear the hijab
"properly," feel the pressure.
'There could be an explosion at any time'
On
Sunday, the government reacted as expected. Ten men and women were arrested in
Mashhad, a stronghold of conservative hard-liners in the country's northwest.
The 10 activists had traveled to the university there to support a popular
lecturer who had been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
But Mohebi and other observers in Iran have said they believe
the government will not achieve much with the arrests.
"Brutality,
prison and repression could intimidate some and slow down the movement, but
they cannot stop it," Mohebi said. "The issues that motivated
people to take up this dangerous initiative are still there. The government's
biggest mistake is to further patronize and pressure women and the youth with
Islamic rules while demonstrating their complete inability to improve the
economic situation."
"There
could be an explosion at any time," said lawyer and declaration signatory
Giti Pourfazel. "We are sitting on a tinderbox." She hopes that
her initiative resonates with society. At the same time, she hopes that in case
she or any of her group members are arrested, people will not just stand for
the freedom of the declaration's signatories, but above all support their
demands for political change.