Iran in the Wake of Mahsa Amini's Death.

• Author: Uygur, Hakki

Introduction

Three months have passed since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained on September 13, 2022, and pronounced dead three days later in Iran. The resulting protests are still underway --albeit with fluctuating intensity. The protestors alleged that the young woman died due to ill-treatment in custody. In contrast, the police and other officials stated that Amini's death was being investigated and rejected the claim that she had been mistreated. The Iranian authorities released video footage of the young woman's final moments to support their claims.

Moreover, President Ebrahim Raisi offered his condolences to Amini's family by phone, and the revolutionary leader Ali Khamenei's representative in the Kurdistan province visited the dead woman's relatives. Notwithstanding, people close to the victim's family and the protestors insist that Mahsa Amini was repeatedly struck in the head inside a police vehicle. The protests have been underway in various cities and varying degrees for approximately three months. Whereas the regime replaced the compulsory hijab as the target of widespread outrage, it would be helpful to briefly touch upon the historical background of the rule, a policy the urban masses had been reacting against for some time. The Iranian Guidance Patrol, or morality police, a particular law enforcement unit known as Gasht-e Ershad in Farsi, is a relatively new institution. That organization emerged under President Mohammad Khatami and became more potent during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. That police unit, which derives its raison d'etre from the principle of "enjoining good and forbidding wrong" commonly found in Islamic teachings, was established to end the ongoing chaos in that area by setting standards and, mainly, to prevent arguments and physical fights between different social groups on the streets.

After all, disputes between pious and conservative Iranians and others, who were more lenient about the hijab or smoking outside in the holy month of Ramadan, had long been causing social problems. At the same time, footage of altercations between the police and young women often received millions of views on social media. It evoked a strong response from many parts of Iranian society --although the scope and impact of such practices diminished over time. (1)

The Origins of Compulsory Hijab

A quick look at the Islamic Revolution of 1979 reveals that women, who did or did not cover their hair, fought together at the time, as Iranian newspapers from the initial months reported senior officials as pledging that there would be no compulsory hijab. However, the Iran-Iraq War, which started in September 1980, led to the emergence of a rigid version of martial law and, subsequently, the political arena shrinking. Accordingly, the impact of some precautions initially deemed temporary persists to this day. Notably, the rising death toll of the protracted armed conflict, the volunteers from the countryside --primarily children of conservative families--getting into fights on the streets of Tehran due to what they witnessed there and asking officials whether they were fighting to preserve that lifestyle became influential over time. Consequently, Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to make it compulsory for all female public employees to wear the hijab in July 1980. Later, the Islamic Shura approved a bill in 1984, which remains valid today, forcing all women to adhere to an Islamic dress code. The dress code applies not only to employees but all women in any public place across the country. (2) There are many noteworthy anecdotes in the memoir of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former President of Iran, about the subject.

There are vast social and cultural differences between Iran in the early days of the Islamic Revolution, which had a predominantly rural and poorly educated population of 35 million, and the country today, where three-quarters of 85 million Iranians live in the cities and the literacy and higher education completion rates are on par with developed countries. Women's roles and social standing are undoubtedly at the top of that list. It is possible to reach that conclusion by taking a quick look at Iranian society and even the inner circles of Iran's ruling elite. Indeed, the protestors have stressed that the social media posts of the children and grandchildren of top Iranian officials show that they lead entirely different lives. That is why a young woman dying in police custody after ostensibly failing to comply with the compulsory hijab rule fueled such uproar in Iran. The public statements of some parliamentarians and former senior officials also demonstrate that large chunks of Iranian society agree with that reaction. It has also been interesting to see famous athletes, actors, and media personalities--best known for their proximity to the regime and tending to respond cautiously to such developments not to upset anyone--make strong statements about the situation.

What Lies Ahead?

Historical and cultural factors make Iranian society a protest-prone group of people because there is a constant gap between the state and society in Iran. That disconnect and emotional distance exist not only among ethnic and sectarian communities stuck between Iran's center and periphery but also between the various powers in the center. Judging by the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath, it would not be misleading to claim that the country's social fault lines remain in motion. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the frequency of mass protests has increased from once a decade to once every three or four years. That is mainly due to the insufficiency of 'legitimate' channels for Iranians to express their demands. In light of the most recent developments, it is impossible to identify any political movement that pledges to end the compulsory hijab policy or make it optional for women to cover their heads--provided that there are no political parties in Iran. Likewise, anyone that dares to question the basic tenets of...