“Azaadi”, “Azaadi”. These are slogans heard all over Iran in the past 3-4 weeks. The protest erupted when a woman was captured by Iran’s morality police for not covering her face. The woman named Mahsa Amini of Kurdish descent eventually died in Police custody. People in Iran accused Iran's morality police of torture and physical violence that Miss. Amini bore. The protest began in a small size where the brutality took place, and eventually, the whole of Iran witnessed the anger of its people. Dozens of people were killed in the widespread protest by the Islamist regime.
While the regime in a statement accused US and Israel of the conspiracy. This a very typical statement in such times that we often see in many other parts of the world too.
When the news of Ms Amini's death spread throughout Iran, thousands of women took to the street, taking off their veils(an obligatory headscarf imposed by Iran's so-called head Ayothallah in 1983). Some women went even further by burning their headscarves. The rogue regime perhaps never expected such a public reaction.
It’s time for a throwback here, Iran was a well-established and modern developing country with secular ideology in the era of the Shah of Iran. Iran's industries and universities were thriving at that time. One could see women wearing scarf and skirts at the same in a street. Then came the revolution which changed everything for Iranians. The revolution was brought by mostly the right-wing pro-Islamic faction of Iranian society. In 1979 Shah of Iran had to flee to save his life and a new regime was established. Shah was declared a western stooge and traitor for introducing western values into societies.
After the installation of the new regime, thousands of secular Iranian fled to other countries, but most of them remain in Iran. From time to time these people have been raising their voices against the regime. Most of the internet media and international news agencies have been blocked in Iran, declaring them as the propagation of foreign agendas.
Any protest against the Islamist government in the past 43 years was dealt with by force and with the same accusations. Is there any difference between the present protests and the ones in the past? The regime is using the same methods, force and false accusations, but the intensity of the protests is much bigger this time. They spread like fire throughout Iran and the vast women's participation enhanced the motive of the protest. Azadi, the popular slogan was on every face in the past three weeks.
The protests are a clear message from the secular faction of Iranian society to its conservative government. Many western visitors to the Iranian capital Tehran have noticed that the Islamist government is losing its grip on the people of Iran. They experienced that secularism is once again on the rise in Iranian society. And Tehran is depicting the same vibes. Mosque attendance was compulsory five times a day in the eighties and nineties, but that decree has eroded with time. Now there are plenty of mosques in the capital but very few attendees. Similarly, alcohol is strictly prohibited in Iran but its consumption at home is widespread now, of course, the suppliers are using illegal channels to supply the alcohol to Iranian homes.
The Iranians' perspective towards religion is changing at a fast pace. In a 2020 survey, sixty per cent of Iranians replied that they never prayed in their lifetime and roughly half of the population is losing faith in religion. Over sixty per cent of the respondent supported the separation of religion from the state’s affairs. The survey clearly showed a great degree of secularization amongst Iranian. The underground churches in Iran are one of the most thriving churches in the world. The Amini murder added fuel to the already burning fire. The hardliner regime is losing control over its people. All the religious decrees are working in reverse directions. The legacy of the Shah is missed by most Iranians. So after all this, the big question is for how long the regime can hold on to the current system. The revolt against the regime and its foolish decrees is apparent and the leadership must be aware of the revolt.
Comments
Post a Comment