The ongoing protests in Iran sparked by the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini a 22-year-old, Kurdish woman who was detained for not wearing her hijab correctly by Iran’s Islamic religious police and then beaten to death have caught large attention in the West and around the world from feminist and human rights campaigners. In Iran protests have been raging for over three weeks with many women burning their hijabs as a sign of solidarity. Outside there have been many pronouncements about the end of the Islamic Republic and revolution. Despite how morally important these protests and the support for them is, not many people are viewing this with the sober lens that the Middle East often needs to be seen through. It may be a cynical perspective but the historical record shows that often glimmers of hope are followed by a worsening situation. There are only two outcomes that can come from this movement and that is repression by the regime or collapse of the regime and either option will be disastrous. As such this piece seeks to look at the potential outcomes of this movement and what we can take from other such movements such as the Arab Spring.
The Underlying Danger of Iran's Protests
The Underlying Danger of Iran's Protests
The Underlying Danger of Iran's Protests
The ongoing protests in Iran sparked by the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini a 22-year-old, Kurdish woman who was detained for not wearing her hijab correctly by Iran’s Islamic religious police and then beaten to death have caught large attention in the West and around the world from feminist and human rights campaigners. In Iran protests have been raging for over three weeks with many women burning their hijabs as a sign of solidarity. Outside there have been many pronouncements about the end of the Islamic Republic and revolution. Despite how morally important these protests and the support for them is, not many people are viewing this with the sober lens that the Middle East often needs to be seen through. It may be a cynical perspective but the historical record shows that often glimmers of hope are followed by a worsening situation. There are only two outcomes that can come from this movement and that is repression by the regime or collapse of the regime and either option will be disastrous. As such this piece seeks to look at the potential outcomes of this movement and what we can take from other such movements such as the Arab Spring.