Why women are leading the Iranian protests

 

While the news of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in September 2022 sparked protests across Iran, it is not the first time Iranian women and girls have been at the forefront of revolution. 

The significant gains for women's rights under the dictator Reza Shah Pahlavi all but disappeared in the 1979 Islamic revolution. But some of the powerful ways women are protesting now have their roots in Iran's rich history.

We explore how these cultural and historical contexts inform Iranian women's leading role in the current protests

Iran - Woman, life, freedom

 

It’s been six months since the protests in Iran, sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in custody began. Across the country people are demanding more rights under the slogan: ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’. But the regime has been retaliating, with brute force.

The Iranian protester who escaped his execution - BBC Newsnight

 

Since the "Women Life Freedom" protests erupted in September last year, 500 young protesters have died, and as many as 20,000 young women and men have been injured and or detained by Iran's Security forces. The BBC believes hundreds are still in jail. 

Earlier this year, Newsnight reported that many injured prisoners have been kept in dire conditions and that prison authorities refuse to send them for medical treatment.    Ashkan Morovati, a 26-year-old boxer who was shot repeatedly during the protests in broad daylight and imprisoned, has miraculously escaped execution and fled. 

Eiffel Tower lights up in support of women protesting in Iran

 

The Eiffel Tower in France has lit up with messages of support for protesting women in Iran.

The slogan "Femme, Vie, Liberte" was seen on the landmark in Paris, which translates to "Women, Life, Freedom".

Mass protests have been continuing since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini four months ago.

Iran issues more death sentences over Amini protests

 

Tuesday's latest death sentence was against Javad Rouhi, a man described by the judiciary website as a "leader of rioters," which is how Iran describes its protesters. He was faced with a long list of charges, including "corruption on earth."

Iran sentences 3 more to death in connection with protests

 

Iran said on Monday that it had sentenced three more people to death over charges of allegedly killing security forces during protests which have gripped the country for some four months. The Islamic republic has condemned 17 people to death since nationwide protests broke out in September last year, after the death of 22-year-old Gina Mahsa Amini while in moral police custody. Four of those have already been executed, including two last weekend.

Iran actress Taraneh Alidoosti arrested after supporting protests -

Iranian authorities have arrested one of the country's best known actresses, after she expressed solidarity with anti-government demonstrators. Taraneh Alidoosti was detained on charges of "spreading falsehoods" about the protest movement that has gripped the country, state media said. In a social media post last week, Alidoosti condemned the execution of a man over his involvement with the protests. She is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning film The Salesman.

German politicians raise awareness of plight of Iranian protestors

For three months, Iran has been shaken by anti-regime protests. At least two people have already been executed in connection with the demonstrations, and activists warn that others face the same fate. Now German politicians are doing their part to raise awareness of the plight of some political prisoners.

The secret diaries of women protesting in Iran

 

Since a young woman, Mahsa Amini, was killed while being detained by Iran's morality police for not wearing her headscarf correctly, the country has been rocked by daily protests.

Both women and men, who want a life free from the strict rules of the Islamic Republic, have been taking part.

We know Mahsa Amini's story, but what of the everyday risks and dangers that women face, as they continue to protest?

Over two and a half months, women have been sending their thoughts as voice notes, writing and drawings to the BBC's Saba Zavarei. Here are their diaries, with names changed for their safety. 

How do European countries respond to the first execution of a protester in Iran?

 

Britain has placed new sanctions on Iran, including numerous government officials, for their part in a crackdown on anti-regime protesters. This comes as the European Union announced it too is planning further sanctions. International condemnation has followed Tehran's execution of a protester. Mohsen Shekari was hanged on Thursday, and activists are warning that at least a dozen more Iranian protesters face the same fate.

After first known execution over protests in Iran: Unrest likely to 'get worse' |

 

Iranian authorities carried out the first known execution on Thursday over the ongoing anti-government unrest that has shaken the Islamic regime over the past few months. Mohsen Shekari, 23, had been convicted and sentenced to death for blocking a street and wounding a member of the Basij force, a paramilitary branch of the nation's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, during the early phase of the demonstrations in mid-September.

Iran hands down death sentences to protesters as nationwide solidarity strike continues

 

Officials in Iran have handed down the death sentence to five people charged with the killing of a member of the security forces. It's the latest in a series of harsh sentences for anti-government protesters. Meanwhile, shopkeepers and truck drivers have announced a nationwide strike in solidarity with the protest movement.

Iran suspends ‘morality police’ | Al Jazeera Newsfeed

 

Iran has signaled that the controversial ‘morality police’ are being disbanded following months-long protests, sparked after Mahsa Amini died while in their custody.

Despite more than 300 Iranians killed, protests show no signs of stopping | DW News

 

The UN condemned the Iran's deadly crackdown directed at protesters, which were ignited by the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini. UN spokesman Jeremy Laurence cited human rights chief Volker Turk as saying that the rise in deaths, including among children, and the tougher security response "underline the critical situation in the country."

Hundreds dead in Iran protests including children, says UN

 

The UN human rights office has warned the situation with ongoing protests in Iran is "critical". A hardening of the response by security forces to the anti-government unrest was resulting in a rising number of deaths, UN spokesperson Liz Throssell said. She put the toll at more than 300 and expressed concern at reports that bodies were being held unless families stayed silent or gave false statements on the cause of death.

Iranian protesters set fire to Ayatollah Khomeini’s ancestral home

 

Protesters in Iran have set on fire the ancestral home of the Islamic republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as two months of anti-regime demonstrations show no let up.

The house in the city of Khomein in the western Markazi province was shown ablaze late on Thursday with crowds of jubilant protesters marching past, according to images posted on social media, verified by AFP.

Khomeini is said to have been born at the house in the town of Khomein – from where his surname derives – at the turn of the century.

Iran protests: The dance video I dared not share

 

Sarina is a dancer who left Iran three years ago, but is closely following those she knows who are risking their lives to march in the street.

She is safe in another country, but has found a new vein of expression and creativity, spurred on by the people demonstrating back home.

Iran vows tough stance on dissent in public trials

 

Protests have gripped Iran since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16. She was arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. What began as outrage over her death soon evolved into a popular uprising against Iran's leaders.

Death toll rises as Iranian security forces open fire at anti-government protesters

 

The mass protests against Iran's authoritarian government were triggered by the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman while in police custody in mid-September. The morality police had arrested her for allegedly not complying with a headscarf mandate.

Evin prison fire: Gun shots and sirens heard at notorious detention centre

 

A fire has broken out at Iran's notorious Evin prison, with footage posted online showing flames and smoke billowing from the area.

Gun shots, explosions and alarms have been reported as coming from the jail, the primary site for detaining political prisoners.

An official quoted by state media said "criminal elements" were to blame, but that the situation was under control.

Iran has been gripped for weeks by anti-government protests.

They first erupted last month when anger over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini boiled over. Officials say she died from an underlying health condition, but her family say she died after being beaten by morality police.