Iran's Woman, Life, Freedom movement is calm now but embers lie under the smouldering ash

A new anthology of art and first-hand accounts captures the hardship, hope and empowerment of the women's protests a year after the death of Mahsa Amini. Here, an unsigned letter compares them to an active volcano

The solidarity within Iran is illustrated by this image of a young woman atop a car in Saqqez, arms to the sky while, as far as the eye can see, thousands of people move towards Mahsa Amini's grave to mark 40 days since her burial. AFP photo/UGC imageShow less

Dearest __________,

By now, the world knows the story of Mahsa Amini whose death, following her arrest by the morality police in September 2022, impelled the youth of Iran to take to the streets, catching the entire country off guard. In the subsequent months, much has been written and said – especially outside Iran – about a momentous reckoning taking place in the life of the Islamic Republic.

There is an element of wishful thinking here (as often happens with regard to Iran), but there is also a good deal of truth. Iran is a complicated nation, and people in Tehran joke that every six months this sprawling plateau of so many identities and languages transforms into a different country altogether.

And yet the Islamic Republic endures.

The change that has occurred in recent months is certainly acute. Walking through the capital will reveal that a significant portion of the female population willingly continues to wear the hijab and does so insistently. However, a visible number of women also walk the streets with their heads entirely uncovered. This shift is unprecedented in the life of the Islamic Republic. Women with a variety of hairstyles and colours go about their business boldly, without revealing, at least on the surface, any fear of the security forces occupying the corners of the major thoroughfares.

Five years ago, Vida Movahed climbed on to a utility box on Revolution Avenue, Tehran, stuck her white hijab on a wooden stick and waved it in the air. How fateful the act of protest turned out to be. Photo: Ay-Collection / Sipa / Shutterstock

The Woman, Life, Freedom movement that evolved following Amini’s death, and the appearance of women on the streets of Iran not wearing the hijab, is not unlike a sprint relay, with the baton first passed on 27 December 2017 when Vida Movahed climbed up on a large electrical utility box, took off her white hijab, stuck it on a wooden stick and waved it in the air as a sign of protest.

A lot of women whose basic motto is now ‘a normal life’ do not necessarily know what happened that day on Revolution Avenue five years ago – and how fateful it turned out to be. The same goes for the young men who go out of their way to show solidarity by waving victory signs and smiling widely at the women who refuse to cover their heads. In the busy Haft-e (“Seventh”) Tir Square in the heart of the city, a young woman not wearing the hijab articulates her view, saying: “I want to dress freely. My mother hardly ever removes her hijab, but I’m not my mother. Respect for difference and diversity is what makes life beautiful.”

And yet, on the other side of the equation, the Islamic Republic has considered the hijab a red line, and an ideological foundation, for the last 40 years. Many within the regime consider losing this fight synonymous with surrendering, and surrender has never been part of the Islamic Republic’s playbook. But what to do when so many young women in towns large and small across Iran are rejecting the hijab?

One strategic option – the one that the regime seems to have adopted for the time being – is to do nothing. This has led to scenes that would have been unimaginable in this country half a year ago: young women (but not only the young) passing directly in front of security police, who make no effort to arrest them. And while in Friday prayers, and other platforms connected to conservative factions, the cry for a harsh crackdown continues unabated, the highest echelons of power appear to be tacitly endorsing the maxim “live and let live”.

Young women and men of school and university age are the flagbearers of the movement and paid a heavy toll during the earlier street confrontations with the security forces. More recently, prison terms and a handful of summary executions (not to mention the winter chill) have brought a hiatus, for now, to the streets of Tehran and other cities.

Iranian Women of Graphic Design provided hundreds of art and protest posters in support of the revolution through an open access drive on the internet, including Ghazal Foroutan's 'The Persian Rosie' digital illustration. Photo: Saqi Books

While the streets are quiet, the youth are still busy in the virtual world, and Iran’s Generation Z is as internet savvy as youths anywhere. The regime’s filtering and control of the virtual world may be able to slow internet access, but it cannot put a stop to it altogether. A teacher at a Tehran girls’ school says: “My students stand up in the middle of class, shouting that they don’t want to follow the lesson plan; they want to talk about the problems the country faces. These kids are angry.”

“Taking off my hijab is the least I can do,’ says a young woman, who has not worn a headscarf for the past three months. She continues: “The government must understand that even guns aren’t enough to force women to cover their heads any more. If one day I have to go back to wearing the hijab, I’ll have betrayed Mahsa and all the others who’ve already died for us. Every day, I spend hours on YouTube and other websites. I see what’s going on outside Iran. Why should there be such a divide between us and the rest of the world? Why does the government have to control our private lives? Why are Iranians so poor when our country has so much natural wealth?”

It’s a little past noon on Revolution Avenue, a weekday. I decide to spend half an hour inside the France Pastry Shop, one of Tehran’s oldest cafes, which is more than enough time to get a sense of the women who pass by the celebrated utility box. In the 30-minute interval, 61 women pass by. Thirty-two of them have their heads completely uncovered. Sixteen wear their headcovers reluctantly, the hair easily showing. Thirteen either wear a full chador or the maqnaa (one-piece head covering) often worn by women in government offices and schools.

Demonstrators chant slogans during the March of Solidarity for Iran in Washington. AFP

Another group of demonstrators at the march. AFP

A protest in support of Iranian women in Barcelona. Reuters

Iranian citizens and locals joined in the Barcelona protest. Reuters

People attend a demonstration in solidarity with Mahsa Amini and other Iranian women in Castello Square, Turin. EPA

A person places a candle during the demonstration in Turin. EPA

A protester holds a pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flag during a demonstration in Brussels in support of the Iranians fighting for their freedom. AFP

A protester wearing a top with a logo that reads 'No to an Islamic state" as she takes part in a rally in support of the Iranian people, in Brussels. AFP

People wave the Shah-era Iranian flag during a protest in Paris. AFP

A woman shows her true colours in the protest against the Iranian government, in Paris. AFP

A woman holds a flag, as people protest against the Iranian regime outside Iran's embassy in central London. Reuters

Supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) carry placards and wave party flags in Beirut, during a protest against the death of Ms Amini. EPA

People demonstrate against the Iranian government outside the Houses of Parliament in London following the death of Amini. Reuters

A mural in Paris depicts women cutting their hair to show support for Iranian protesters. AP

People take part in a rally against the Iranian government in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday. AP

Protesters take to the streets of Tehran. EPA

Iranian protesters run after clashing with with police. EPA

A protester shaves their head outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Reuters

Iranians living in Athens hold a protest in solidarity. AFP

People take part in a rally in The Hague. AFP

A woman cuts her hair during a demonstration in Santiago, Chile, by feminist groups and Iranian migrants in support of Iranian women following the death of Amini. AFP

Members of feminist groups and Iranian migrants during the protests in Santiago. AFP

Iranian activists shout slogans during a protest against the government in Tehran, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. EPA

A protester holds a painted portrait of Mahsa Amini in Berlin, Germany. EPA

A protester shows red paint on her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in Berlin. EPA

Iranian protesters shout slogan during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

A woman holds a sign during a protest against the Iranian government, in front of the country's embassy in Madrid, Spain. The protests were triggered by the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. Reuters

A woman cuts her hair during the protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Madrid. Reuters

Israelis show their support for women in Iran as they hold up placards of Amini during a protest in Jerusalem. EPA

Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, by the morality police. She fell into a coma while in police custody and was declared dead on September 16. EPA

People walk by graffiti in support of the protests triggered by Amini's death, in Jerusalem. EPA

A protest in Nantes, western France, after the death of Amini in Iranian police custody. AFP

Women gather for a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain. AFP

Demonstrators in Nantes. Amini's death has sparked a global protest movement. AFP

Women protest outside the town hall in in Montpellier, southern France. AFP

A woman at a protest in Catalunya Square, Barcelona. Reuters

Campaigners and football fans protest at a Champions League match between Porto and Bayer Leverkusen at the Dragao stadium in Portugal. EPA

People hold placards during a demonstration in solidarity with the Iranian people near the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. EPA

An Iranian woman living in Turkey with 'Freedom' written on her forehead takes part in a protest near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. Reuters

In Barcelona, protesters take part in a demonstration in support of Iranian women. AFP

A Lebanese activist takes part in a protest in Beirut, triggered by the death of Amini, 22. AP

A Turkish protester takes off her head scarf while giving a performance in Instanbul during a protest against Iran over Amini's death. Getty

A woman in Istanbul cuts her hair during a protest against Iran. Getty

A Lebanese activist holds a poster depicting Amini during a protest in Beirut organised by feminist groups in support of women protesters in Iran. EPA

Demonstrators in Los Angeles, California, hold the Iranian flag during a protest against the government in Tehran. AFP

Demonstrators hold placards in Mexico City during a protest against Iran. Reuters

People demonstrate in Montreal, Canada, during a protest triggered by Amini's death. AFP

Iranian Americans participate in a rally in central Los Angeles, in solidarity with women in Iran. AP

Demonstrators march during a protest in Los Angeles, California. AFP

A woman with the colours of the Iranian flag painted on her face participates in a rally as thousands demonstrate in support of Iranian women in Los Angeles. EPA

Australians protest over Amini's death in Melbourne. EPA

Police block protesters from entering Iran's embassy in Oslo, Norway. EPA

Demonstrators in front of the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, during a rally against Iran. EPA

A candlelight vigil for Amini in Los Angeles. AFP

Afghan women hold placards as they take part in a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul. AFP

Protestors take part in a rally outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. AFP

An Iranian woman shows a lock of hair she cut off during a protest outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. EPA

Demonstrators outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. Getty

Iranian Americans rally on Capitol Hill in Washington to show support for protesters in Iran. AFP

Protesters on Capitol Hill hold a sign condemning the crackdown by Tehran. AFP

German demonstrators gather in Berlin after the death of Amini in Iranian police custody. AP

A protester cries during a rally in Berlin. Reuters

A demonstration in Madrid, Spain. Thousands have gathered in cities across Europe to support protests in Iran. AP

Demonstrators gather outside the Iranian embassy in Madrid. Reuters

People take part in a protest in Lausanne, Switzerland. EPA

Protesters hold signs featuring images of Amini during the protest in the western Swiss city. EPA

Demonstrators in front of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA

An activist outside the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a sign that reads 'Justice for Mahsa Amini'. AFP

A demonstration against violence in Iran is held in Quito, Ecuador. The Iranian community in Ecuador protested outside the Iranian embassy. EPA

Protesters at a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in Quito, Ecuador. EPA

Inside the cafe, the numbers are similarly telling – several university-age women wearing no hijab are busy ordering hot drinks and pastries. Leaning on the cafe’s window, a young couple stare out at the pavement. The woman, with no headscarf, points to the platform and says, “You know, that’s exactly where Vida took her hijab off for the first time ever and waved it on a pole.” As if on cue, at that moment a big black van, accompanied by a force of 20 motorcycles belonging to the special anti-riot police, passes the spot on Revolution Avenue.

Nowadays, Tehran’s streets are relatively calm – despite the exaggerated and often out-of-context claims of imminent revolution that opposition television channels tiresomely broadcast into the country. As Generation Z will tell you, Woman, Life, Freedom is on pause right now. They liken the movement to an active volcano that erupts now and then, but whose eruptions are far smaller than the major one which is expected to happen some day. One of them says, “We’re the embers under the smouldering ash; any day, we could catch on fire. The regime and its shock troops need to get it into their heads once and for all that Iran will never go back to how it used to be.”

Interestingly, the regime and its young people may have the same objective in mind: not going back to what once was. Why else would the sight of women not wearing the hijab have become so commonplace here? One could argue that, rather than a volcano awaiting a “great eruption”, the Islamic Republic – after more than four decades of practice – has not necessarily perfected, but rather learnt the art of allowing for seismic activity (sometimes even tectonic in scale) in order to pre-empt something of far larger magnitude.

This story is still unfolding.

Yours always,

A

Translated from Persian

This is an edited extract from Woman Life Freedom: Voices and Art from the Women’s Protests in Iran (Saqi, £14.99), edited by Malu Halasa, which is available now.