Iraq News Now

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.