Two years after the murder of Mahsa Amini: ‘The protests have brought with them a period of civil disobedience’
- Two years of repression and violence
- Activist Narges Mohammadi starts hunger strike in solidarity with the Iranian people
Mahsa Amini has left a legacy in Iran that will be hard to forget. Her death triggered one of the largest waves of protests in the history of the Islamic Republic, putting the Ayatollahs' regime in check and also generating hopes for change after four decades of oppression.
The murder of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman by the infamous Morality Police for wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly, in violation of the dress code for women, lit a fuse in Iran that has yet to be fully extinguished. Despite the regime's efforts to suppress the protests, the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Women, Life, Freedom) movement lives on, both outside and inside Iran's borders.
The protests - led by women - began shortly after Mahsa died in hospital as a result of the brutal beating, spreading across the country and abroad.
In order to understand the huge national and international impact of Mahsa Amini's case, it is necessary to take into account the strong repression of women in Iran, as well as other factors that led people from all walks of life to join these historic protests.
Although the protests began to condemn the dress laws, they were quickly joined by other demands related to the lack of freedoms in general, as well as the lack of opportunities.
This historic wave of demonstrations marked a turning point in the country and, two years later, the consequences of this movement are still being felt. ‘The protests and repression have brought with them a period of civil disobedience,’ says political analyst Daniel Bashandeh, who points out that the regime still faces three vital crises: economic, generational and institutional.
‘To this is added another situation: the Islamic Republic represents only a shrinking minority. Without social and political reforms, the Islamic Republic will continue to prolong its three crises,’ he explains.
However, despite the challenges, the Iranian regime has one important asset in its favour: the lack of an organised and institutionalised internal opposition that could be the alternative to the Islamic Republic.
‘There is no union or organisation that could be an alternative. And the regime is aware that as long as there is fragmentation outside the country, it will always be a valid interlocutor for the West,’ notes Bashandeh.
However, since the Women for Life and Freedom movement is a bottom-up, citizen-led movement, ‘it is more difficult for the regime to control because it is not organised and the last resort is repression’.
In addition to repression, the regime has tried to channel discontent with the candidacy of Pezeshkian, who has presented himself as a ‘reformist’ or ‘moderate’. ‘But Pezeshkian has declared his loyalty to Khamenei. And his policies will always be supervised by the supreme leader. No social or political reforms have been implemented. It remains to be seen whether Pezeshkian can make changes but any change means going against the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran,’ says the analyst.
Khamenei hopes that Pezeshkian can deal with the country's three crises, but above all, he seeks to give continuity to the regime. ‘However, the population, especially the younger ones, are demanding structural changes,’ he stresses. In this sense, he assures that if the Islamic Republic does not reform, ‘its continuity will be difficult with a young population that rejects revolutionary values and a lack of opportunities’.
Regarding Iran's future, Bashandeh stresses that it must ‘go through democracy’, urging the international community not to forget the people of Iran and not to impose sanctions on Iran's population, since the consequences are suffered by the people and not their rulers. ‘The seed of change was planted many years ago and is beginning to bear fruit: the international community must not isolate Iran.
Two years of repression and violence
Despite the achievements, however, Iranians have paid a heavy price in their struggle for freedom. According to data from Iran Human Rights, in the two years following Mahsa Amini's assassination at the hands of the state, at least 1425 people were executed in Iran in the course of the Women, Life, Freedom protests. This is almost double the number of executions compared to the two years prior to the protests.
On the other hand, the Islamic Republic has executed ten men in cases related to the protests. The latest was Gholamreza Rasaei, hanged in August after being convicted of killing a member of the Revolutionary Guards.
In addition to killings and public executions, the regime authorities used torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence against detained protesters, according to a UN report based on victim testimonies.
The report even speaks of ‘crimes against humanity’, as many of those who participated in the protests were brutally injured, to the point of losing their eyesight.
On the other hand, the families of the victims face strong pressure from the Iranian authorities, as is the case of Mashallah Karami, father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, who was executed in January 2023 at the age of 22 in a case related to the protests.
Mashallah Karami, who often honoured his son's memory, was sentenced to six years in prison in May and then, in August, to another sentence of almost nine years.
Also in these two years, the security forces have continued their war on women and girls, intensifying the surveillance of ‘morality’ and the violent enforcement of compulsory veiling.
In this regard, the Iranian authorities have adopted a series of measures that violate women's rights, such as confiscating cars and denying them access to employment, education, health care, banking services and public transport.
Indeed, in April 2024, the regime launched a nationwide campaign called ‘Plan Noor’ (Plan Light), which aims to increase security patrols on foot, motorbikes, cars and police vans in public spaces to enforce the compulsory wearing of the veil.
Since the start of the Women, Life, Liberty protests, there has also been an increase in the use of the death penalty. 2023 was the year in which the highest number of executions in recent times was recorded. The authorities use the death penalty as a tool of oppression in order to terrorise the population, including the country's ethnic minorities.
According to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, at least 853 executions were recorded in 2023, while at least 274 executions were carried out in 2024, as of 30 June 2024.
Activist Narges Mohammadi starts hunger strike in solidarity with the Iranian people
Coinciding with the second anniversary of the assassination of Mahsa Amini, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi and 33 other women political prisoners in Iran began a hunger strike in prison. ‘Once again, female political and ideological prisoners in Evin Prison have started a hunger strike in solidarity with the Iranian people protesting against the government's repressive policies,’ Mohammadi said on her Instagram account.
The 52-year-old activist is one of the most important voices of human rights advocacy in Iran. Because of her tireless work, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been sentenced several times since 2021. The sentences total 13 years and three months in prison and 154 lashes, among other punishments.
The latest sentence came in June, when she was sentenced to another year in prison for ‘propaganda against the system’ for criticising the imposition of the veil and calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections.