Iranian protests against authoritarian regime show astonishing courage - Bill Carmichael

In one video from the southern city of Shiraz a member of the feared paramilitary force, the Basij, is addressing a group of schoolgirls when they take off their hijabs – an illegal act in Iran – and start chanting “Get lost Basiji” and “Death to the Dictator”, a reference to Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Given the brutal nature of the regime and its paramilitary goons, this is an act of astonishing courage.

In Karaj, to the west of the capital, Tehran, girls without head coverings heckled a visiting city official shouting “shame on you” and pelting him with plastic bottles until he was forced to flee. Similar scenes have been repeated dozens of times across Iran.

We have seen protests in Iran previously, of course, and each expression of protest and freedom has been suppressed, like this one, with extreme violence and savagery by the state.

But the current wave of protests is showing no signs of dying down, despite an estimated 185 people, including 19 children, having been killed by security forces in recent weeks.

And one striking feature of the many demonstrations is the leading role being taken by women, and very young women at that, many of them in their teens and still at school or university.

It is women of course who bear the brunt of an authoritarian regime dominated by misogynist bigots who believe they have a God-given right to tell women what to wear, how to behave and even what to think.

The demonstrations have a distinctly feminist slant with the slogan “Women, Life and Freedom” often chanted. Women have filmed themselves removing and burning their hijabs and then cutting off locks of their hair in protest.

The current unrest was triggered by the death in September of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested and badly beaten by Iran’s morality police, because she was wearing her hijab too loosely and some of her hair was showing.

The anger at this horrible killing was immediate on the streets and on social media too. The Iranian government tried to quell the street protests with violence, and blocked a number of social media platforms. But the protests continue and the hashtag #Mahsa_Amini broke Twitter records with more than 80 million tweets, according to reports.

Iran’s leaders of course blame the West, and specifically Israel, for the unrest. It is always very telling to see that the talking points of one of the most reactionary regimes on the planet are always almost identical to the obsessions of the far left in the UK and US, and the hatred of the West and the demonisation of Israel are just two examples.

Leftists also often argue that the hijab, and Islamic face coverings such as the burqa and niqab, far from being oppressive, are somehow symbols of empowerment and liberation.

The young women of Iran would seem to disagree, and having been forced against their will to wear headscarves for most of their lives, they would know better than anyone. Why not let them make their own minds up about what to wear?

Incidentally, I am against the state imposing bans on such items of clothing, such as the “Burqa Ban” law imposed by France in 2010, that makes it illegal to wear a face covering in public spaces. The state should have no role in telling free individuals what to wear. The decision to wear a headscarf or face covering should be up to the individual woman.

There are also worrying British connections to the oppression of women in Iran. According to the Times newspaper Saied Reza Ameli is secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, which drew up the tougher guidance on the compulsory wearing of the hijab.

He also has strong connections to the UK and is the director of the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, which has significant influence on British politics and society.

We should ask ourselves, should we even allow such a man into our country? I salute the incredibly brave women of Iran who are standing up for their rights and liberties in the face of oppression and violence of the worst kind. Their resilience and courage is truly inspiring, and I hope their fight for liberty will prevail.

But I have the same worries with Iran as with the situation in Ukraine. When despots such as Ali Khamenei and Vladimir Putin come under pressure they are likely to lash out with increasing violence against innocent civilians. Please keep the women of Iran and the people of Ukraine in your prayers.