“Forcing women to wear hijab is not culture,” says Iranian visiting researcher

In light of the recent protests and civil unrest in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested and beaten for wearing an “improper" hijab, Papoli-Yazdi reflects on the on-going situation.

Sharif University in Tehran, where the protests have spread, was attacked. What is the role of universities and students?

“Iran's dictatorship has been established based on repression of intellectuals, and the regime tends to follow a cycle of repression every time an uprising begins. One of its first actions after the 1979 revolution was to purge the universities’ professors and students who did not believe in Islamism. It has happened several times in Iran. I think Iran's repressive system has lost its creativity and is acting in the same way as before but with more brutality.

“The students are very active in the protests. They demand fundamental changes in, among other things, the education systems; they write on social media and publish articles. The students also have the knowledge to weaken the internet blocking system, which is an important tool for the regime to control information. All of this makes students an important target. The regime arrests the students or attacks the universities and puts pressure on researchers to spy on the students.”

What does everyday life look like for a researcher in Iran today?

“To study in Iran, you need permission from the government. Censorship is one of the biggest problems in a researcher's everyday life. The critics of the state usually cannot find a job, and many of them live in fear of being arrested. For many of us, the situation becomes even more complicated after we move to other countries. The threats from the government continue. They propagate against us through social media or disturb our family members.”

What is different about this rebellion compared to before?

“Iran is one of the worst countries for women. The country ranks 150th in the global index of gender inequality. The regime wants to take control of women's bodies, and I see the mandatory hijab as a good example of this. I think Iran's regime wants to keep women in their own homes, but it's not working anymore. Iranian women are educated – more than 50 per cent of students are female – and aware of their rights. They resist the religious regime and its traditions.

“During the previous protests, it was usually a certain social or political group or people living in particular cities who demonstrated. This time, people from different classes, ethnicities and genders are protesting. The revolution has spread to schools, universities and hospitals. The presence of women is significant in the social context, and they lead the protests, sing and dance.”

What do you think will happen in the future?

“Returning to the past is more difficult than ever for the Iranian government. Society has experienced a form of spontaneous movement, and every young person is a leader now. Moreover, years of propaganda against ethnic groups have turned into a failed policy.

“The revolution began with the murder of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who was oppressed because of her ethnicity and gender. This has given the revolution a new meaning. The problem has been that Iranian women's voices have not been heard because many in other countries used to view the oppression in Iran as "culture". I want to emphasise that forcing people to obey is not culture. Forcing women to wear hijab is not culture. Destroying ethnic diversity is not culture. Totalitarianism is not culture.

“I have been protesting against Iran's brutal system for many years and have always felt that we have been ignored by the governments that need Iran's oil. This time the voices of our sisters in Iran are loud enough to wake up the world.”

Text: Adrian Grist