Mahsa Amini died in Iranian custody on Sept. 16, 2022.
The reverberations of this death are still felt today — felt in Iran, and felt by people possessing a conscience globally.
This young woman died three days after her arrest by Iran’s "Morality Police."
Her crime was violating the women’s dress code, a code which requires that all women be modestly dressed.
And in Iran, modest dress requires the wearing of a hijab, a head covering.
Iranian officials say they investigated her death.
They say that Mahsa Amini had been transferred to a hospital, while in a coma — and died. They claim that she had a prior condition and did not die, as those who have taken to the streets to protest her death claim from, "blows to the head."
Her family says that she was healthy — that she had no previous medical condition.
Certainly, this writer knows which version of events to believe.
Since her death in mid-September, across Iranian cities and university campuses, there have been organized rallies, protests, and marches — all demanding change in Iran.
The posters, banners, signs and the chants demand more than justice for Mahsa Amini.
They demand change and equality.
These protesters want to topple the religious, dictatorial, regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In Iran, perhaps more so than in any other country (except North Korea), this is no small feat. It means organizing the masses, people willing to take the risk of endangering their own lives, all in an effort to topple a dictatorship.
These task is neither simple or easy.
Joining a protest against the regime of Khamenei could have you killed, arrested, tortured or imprisoned. It could endanger your family, your employment, and their employment.
Joining a protest against the regime is heroic.
The dangers are gargantuan and more more than many in the west can imagine.
In Iran, these risks are not just with respect to anti-regime protests.
As an aside, Iran actually pays participants and organizers to attend anti-West, anti-Israel and anti-American rallies. Those are the rallies and protests that the regime pipes out into the Western media — protesters burning American and Israeli flags, protesters chanting "Death to Israel, Death to America."
Iran hands out payouts to bolster the size of the protests, to boost the size of the rallies.
Not so with the protests spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini.
These protest marches against the regime have a numbers problem. The numbers are unclear. Not just how many people are attending and participating, but how many have been arrested and how many have been killed during and after the protests.
Iran is a religious dictatorship and, as such, it shares similar traits with all dictatorships.
Principally, dictatorships will do anything — anything, to stay in power.
They use force to prevent challenges. They use their police, army, prison time and secret police to intimidate the masses. There is no freedom of communication. The media is a propaganda arm of the regime. Social media and internet are severely restricted.
There is no social media in Iran. It is blocked.
And yet, through sheer determination and a deeply held belief in the causes they are fighting for, protests organizers find ways to end around the restrictions. They use VPNs, (Virtual Private Networks).
These VPN’s make it appear as if the protesters are not in Iran, but somewhere — anywhere else on the globe.
Until discovered they can communicate. Then the regime shuts them down. And so they create other VPNs. Then those are discovered and shut down as well.
It's a cyber-game of cat and mouse.
Protests are taking place in cities big and small, in the periphery and in the center of the country. Some are women only, others are men and women together.
The one universal this writer sees, as he watches the videos, is that the faces are all young.
This is a movement of youth.
Iranian youth are becoming more and more bold.
And the Iranian regime is cracking down more and more brutally.
The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, visited the all-women’s Al Zahara University for a photo-op on the first day of classes. This is the only all women’s university in Iran. Just like any Western university, its offerings are complete. Math, science, history, chemistry, physics, art. Only the top 1% of the country’s women even apply to Al Zahara.
The visit was the regime’s attempt to show that women, especially young women, are siding not with the protesters, but with the authorities. On paper, it was a smart move.
In reality, it backfired.
As soon as Raisi went inside for his photo-op, a protest commenced.
Student protesters gathered outside and shouted. They chanted "Get lost Raisi. We don’t want a murderous guest. President is in Uni while students are in jail."
The phrases most heard in the protests now enveloping Iran are "Woman, Life, Freedom" and "We are not afraid anymore."
A picture that has gone viral is that of a man changing the wording on an official regime sign. The sign, which was originally posted to convince people that the "police are servants of the people" was changed to "police are murderers of the people."
Iranian protesters take their lives in their hands. They are bold and brazen.
Women are seen taking off their hijabs and throwing them into bonfires.
They are seen twirling them in the air over their heads.
It's a sure bet that the regime will clamp down even harder.
I'm convinced that the regime is hoping to intimidate the many by making public examples of the few.
Fear is the regime’s greatest tool.
They wield fear to control the masses and those who demonstrate their discontent.
We know the motivation of the regime.
But, do we know, really, how motivated the protesters are?
Or, how many protesters there are.
When their numbers reach the hundred thousands, the momentum will be unstoppable.
From there it’s a simple move to millions. Millions of Iranians cannot be shut down.
Millions of protesting Iranians can make a difference.
That’s when change will happen in Iran.
That’s when the world will know that Mahsa Amini did not die in vain.
Micah Halpern is a political and foreign affairs commentator. He founded "The Micah Report" and hosts "Thinking Out Loud with Micah Halpern," a weekly TV program, and "My Chopp," a daily radio spot. Follow him on Twitter @MicahHalpern. Read Micah Halpern's Reports — More Here.
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