The Islamization of the Education System in Iran following the 1979 Revolution - Status/الوضع

Last September, Mahsa-Jina Amini, a twenty-two-year-old woman from the Kurdish region of Iran, died while in the custody of Iran’s notorious "morality police."

During the funeral in her hometown of Saghez, which was to become the epicenter of the nationwide protests in Iran, women took off their headscarves, chanting ‘Women Life Freedom’, a slogan which became an iconic chant both within Iran and beyond.

Images of young women protesters openly taking off their headscarves and burning them sent the unmistakable message to the ruling clerics that they could no longer impose their draconian and nonsensical laws on women and girls in Iran.

Throughout the country, in the schools, universities, and streets young people became the leaders of protests calling for an end to the oxymoronic "Islamic republic.“ But, as predicted, the brutality employed by the regime’s security apparatus to suppress the protests at any cost took on epic proportions. Over 500 protesters have reportedly been killed so far, including 70 children.

In addition, to this day four protesters have been executed by the state, with many more also facing the death sentence. Hundreds of protesters were also blinded by Metal Pellets and Rubber Bullets.

Furthermore, over the past six months, human rights organizations have documented the pervasive use of torture and abuse of detained protestors. A newly released report by Amnesty International, for example, reveals that the Iranian authorities have, among other torture methods, used sexual violence against imprisoned children.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, has said that "Iran’s violence against children exposes a deliberate strategy to crush the vibrant spirit of the country’s youth and stop them from demanding freedom and human rights.”
Professor Shahrzad Mojab, who is our guest today, says that much of the push for the current protests has come from young people, who are more aware than previous generations of women's issues thanks to social media. "They have their own powerful reason for wanting a change of regime: a desire for a better future."

Professor Shahrzad Mojab is a scholar, teacher, and activist, and she’s internationally known for her work on the impacts of war, displacement, and violence upon women’s learning and education.

Malihe Razazan spoke with her about the protest movement, the islamization of the education system as well as the role of young women in the protests, and started by asking her to talk about the genesis of the slogan "Women Life Freedom," and how it encapsulates the spirit and objectives of the protests in Iran.