Who is the leader of the nationwide protests in Iran?
Who is the leader of the nationwide protests in Iran? The publication of a quote from Masih Alinejad, who introduced herself as the leader of Iran’s protest movement, especially for women, led to a wave of objections, to the point that she had to retract her statement. Although this was not her first or only retreat in recent days regarding some of her remarks, Alinejad’s opponents argued that the leadership of these protests belongs to the same women and men, girls and boys who have risked their lives and taken to the streets, and no one has the right to claim it.
But who is truly leading this movement? While individuals from every class, gender, and political thought, except for the revolutionary values spectrum, have joined the protests, and this diverse solidarity is very evident on social networks, the presence of two groups is very prominent in the streets, not just on social media: women and the generation of the 2000s. Many media and political activists argue that if any group is entitled to lead this movement, it is these two groups: women and the 2000s generation.
Are women the leaders of the nationwide protests in Iran?
In feminist theories and women’s movements, there is a strong central idea: the belief in horizontal hierarchies instead of vertical ones and the rejection of any form of individual power-seeking, similar to what exists in patriarchal structures. The women’s movement, by rejecting male-centric individual power, seeks to distribute power within feminine decision-making and activism structures and emphasizes the idea of sisterhood, meaning the solidarity of women’s networks, as the only way to escape the patriarchal oppression structure.
This is an occurrence that clearly manifests itself in Iran’s protest movement, without apparently carrying a specific feminist idea or theory.
Although many have labeled this movement as the first feminist revolution in history or in the current century, it seems that the leadership of this movement is not necessarily and solely with women in general or with women’s movement activists in particular. Although the key slogan of these protests is ‘Woman, Life, Freedom,’ and although opposition to the morality police and mandatory hijab were among the initial demands of these protests, and again, although the main carriers and agents of these protests are women, and among the detainees, some women’s rights activists can be seen, this is only part of the current puzzle.
In a broader view, we are facing a confrontation not just of one gender generation, including both girls and boys, who have come to the streets and are demanding their lifestyle—a lifestyle that, although ostensibly a social demand, has been blocked by political locks.
Are the 2000s generation the leaders of the nationwide protests in Iran?
Can we say that the leaders of Iran’s protest movement are the women and men of the 2000s generation, those whose presence and emergence in the streets are more prominent than previous generations, those who were previously labeled as a generation without ideals and concerns? Abbas Kazemi, an assistant professor at the Institute for Cultural and Social Studies and the author of ‘The Everyday in Post-Revolutionary Society,’ warned long ago that if the policies governing people’s everyday lives continue like in previous decades, we will witness the radical activism of this generation.
Earlier, when analysts labeled the 2000s generation as an identity-less, ideal-less generation, he said in an interview with the weekly magazine ‘Tejarat Farda’ that this generation is not without ideals; rather, their ideals are within their lives, unlike previous generations whose ideals were outside and beyond their everyday lives. This generation wants to deal with the conflicts within their everyday lives. They are a generation that does not favor external interventions in their lives.
Therefore, if the trend of policies on everyday life continues like in previous decades, meaning if intervention remains in this manner, activism within everyday life will again be drawn towards larger ideals, and everyday life will become deeply radical. Therefore, the perception of today’s youth as useless, identity-less, and non-political is incorrect, and everything depends on how everyday life is managed by the government. His prediction was entirely accurate; interventions intensified to the point that this generation took to the streets.
Are K-pop fans in the streets the leaders of the nationwide protests in Iran?
But how should this generation be recognized, a generation that is a fan of the Korean music group K-pop and was even identifiable on Twitter with a distinct and separate identity in the cluster analysis of the hashtag Mahsa Amini? Ali Asghar Seyedabadi, a journalist and writer in the field of children and adolescents, writes in an article titled ‘Recognizing the 2000s Generation’ that this generation is global citizens who interact with their peers in games and social networks.
They have stepped out of dualistic frameworks and truly live in a different world. They enjoy unconditional family support, and in the middle-class, most of the household expenses are spent on their comfort, peace, education, and entertainment.
Their world is wider, and their voice is louder.
He considers this generation to be the product of more democratic families, where their voices are heard at home, and their lifestyle is recognized, which is why they consider this their right in society. Seyedabadi says that a look at the published videos shows that the scene for them is more indicative of a kind of play and performance, and that part of this violence is executed with the intention of mocking and laughing at the law enforcement and security forces present at the scene.
He writes that this does not mean depoliticizing this violence, and perhaps the performance is also part of this political action, but it is unprecedented in any of the previous movements. He believes that this generation uses swearing as a form of communication language in their protests, which should not be interpreted.
The nationwide protests began due to the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Tehran morality police. Iran Gate has covered this topic extensively from the start. You can access these articles by searching for Mahsa Amini.
- The crime of the morality police under the Raisi administration.
- How not to get arrested in protests.
