The death of Ebrahim Raisi Iran’s President has sparked a party like no other inside Iran as thousands of Iranians celebrate the death of a man that sanctioned and endorsed violent repression of the women, life freedom movement last year. Revenge Revenge can be wrong, but can also be sweet.
One friend told me they could not recall such an atmosphere like this since Iran managed to reach the football world cup 20 years ago.
One reason the celebrations are so vigorous is because the battle for women’s rights has been continuing in the streets of Tehran over the past month, and Raisi has been at the forefront of those urging the guidance police to enforce laws on the wearing of the hijab that most Iranian women detest.
It’s been about a year and a half since Mahsa Amini was killed by the guidance police, sparking protests across Iran. Since then, women have faced constant pressure with actions such as car seizures, fines, bans, and arrests. They’ve even received SMS warnings for not wearing the hijab, along with denials of social benefits.
But this steady form of repression was not working and Raisi could not tolerate that so he took things to a different level.
Sara, a PhD student from Iran, explains. “I was on my way to Tehran’s main bookshop street to buy a book for my research. Stepping out of the subway, I was ambushed by a group of police guard members, plain clothed individuals, and chador-clad hijab enforcers. I wasn’t terrified, but more stunned; it was sudden and unexpected. I felt trapped, like a lamb surrounded by a pack of coyotes,”
She adds bitterly “They hadn’t been around like this for long. It was a planned attack. It’s a war against women.”
She said within the span of a single day, a horde of plainclothesmen and police officers swept through the streets, launching surprise attacks on women who dared not cover their heads, initiating a fresh round of hand-to-hand combat.
Sara continued, “When they dragged me to the ground and put me in the police van, I realized there were other women in there too. We sat in the cramped police van, facing the unjust consequences of simply living our lives without hijabs.”
On April 16th, a new word entered the conversation of Iranian women: Hamvani, reflecting the empathy and solidarity of women who were arrested and kept in police vans.
Sara said, “We acted strong there, but perhaps when the other women got home, they cried out loud like me, since the feeling of being harassed and humiliated was unbearable. I opened Twitter later, and I noticed the hashtag #hamvani. There were many of us in the vans that day and for days afterward.”
“There was a mother among us who left her sleeping infant at home for a few minutes to buy formula. She was panicking. We started shouting and asking the police officers to at least let her get out of the van. But they ignored us and rushed to the other women on the street, as if they were hunting.” Sara added.
In the past year and a half, Iran’s landscape has drastically changed; women have decided not to take even one step back by not wearing the hijab, no matter the cost, since they’ve already paid the highest price—their lives.
Sara mentioned, “The compulsory hijab is finished in Iran; society has accepted that beautifully, and the Islamic regime knows that too, so what is happening this time?”
That’s the same question that people in Iran ask themselves whenever the severe pressure on women intensifies. Based on experience Raisi and his regime always seem to have a deeper agenda.
It’s as if the dictatorship has singled out women as the main enemy in an attempt to deflect attention away from its crises, knowing how much society is currently fixated on women’s rights.
For instance, they have kept women in the spotlight by threatening and detaining them whenever there’s been news of embezzlement and corruption.
The most recent example was the missile exchange between Israel and Iran, which was followed by even harsher assaults on the women inside. Now, in light of the recent escalation of women’s suppression, women in Iran are not only enduring ongoing attacks from the government, which aims to eliminate their presence from the streets, but also grappling with uncertainty.
Women did not know if Raisi and the regime was using them as a cover-up, shield, or battleground. But whatever his motives, his death will not be mourned by many Iranians
