A recent NYT article examined the causes for protests in Iran that began on Sept 17. In the 2022 protests, which are the largest since the Green Movement protests in 2009, Iranians have taken to the streets in protest economic and social conditions in their country.
While the current protests were sparked by the detention and death of Masha Amini, the issues run much deeper.
Days after Amini’s detention, protest started in Tehran. They quickly spread to over 80 cities, including religiously conservative cities like Qum and Mashad. The protests have continued, causing concern among Iran’s political leadership.
Morality That Kills
Sadly, Amini story is not unique. The twenty-two year old was detained by Iran’s morality police, a paramilitary group that punishes those who violate Iran’s laws against immodesty and societal vices. The morality police have been in existence for over forty-five years. Established in 1979 after the fall of the Shah, the komiteh, was a terrifying force that enforced Iran’s version of Islamic law. Amini’s offense: wearing her headscarf too loosely which left some of her hair visible.
Iran’s version of Islamic law is constructed. Scholars of Islamic legal systems note there is not one universal interpretation of Sharia. Government systems based on Sharia law vary from country to country.
The requirement for women to cover themselves in public has long been a sticking point for women in Iran. Forcing women to wear a hijab does not even begin to scratch the surface of the human rights violations Iranian women face. Today women face discrimination in relation to marriage, divorce, employment, inheritance and ability to hold political office. This was not the case in the 1960s and early 1970s in Iran.
Amini was pronounced dead three days after being detained. The government reported she suffered a heart attack but medical reports show she died from a brain hemorrhage, a result of a beating.
Nothing Left to Lose
The protests in Iran may have been triggered by the incredible injustice done to Amini, but they do not explain everything about the emerging resistance movement. Shadi Sadr, a prominent human rights lawyer said she sees the protests as a statement. She believes Iranians are saying: “Enough of this. I am willing to die to have a life worth living.’” Ali Vaez, Director for the International Crisis Group, concurs. He believes Iranians feel they have nothing to lose and no hope for the future.
That’s a pretty dire picture; but it’s understandable. Numerous factors contribute to the underlying social discontent: including government corruption, economic hardships, and widespread social and political repression. Nearly two generations of Iranians have grown up in theocracy that restricts freedoms, represses opposition and poverty.
The Iranian government’s response to the protests has been forceful. In addition to planning a military response, the government has organized a counter protest, mobilizing women wearing both the chador and the hijab, demanding that the protesters face the death penalty. A tougher crackdown on women is likely given the history of current Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
In many ways it may be difficult for Americans to fully comprehend the reality Iranians face. In America, there’s a general notion that constitutional democracies protect personal and private rights. We also have laws on our books protecting human rights. America continues to grapple with its long and dark history of social and racial injustice, but citizens have a public space to express their concerns and pressure elected officials to pass laws that ensure equal protections for all.
Enough Is Enough
The social uprising in Iran illustrates how, sometimes, people simply decide “enough is enough”. I empathize with the Iranians protesting government repression. It saddens me to know that a majority of the 83 million Iranians live in fear of a violent and repressive regime. The reality that Iranians do not have access to the same liberties, freedoms, protections that human beings living in other countries have disturbs me deeply.
No human being wants to live their life in a constant state of fear. People cannot feel a sense of peace and tranquility when they know that their government does not recognize their rights as human beings. People cannot realize their full potential when they live in fear of a government that can restrict their freedom at will. Citizenship is the right to live in a country without fear of being deported. But what good is the right to live in a country if you have no rights or protections within that country?
Sympathy and Empathy
I am an American citizen, yet I do not enjoy all the same rights, liberties and protections that other Americans enjoy. As a result of pleading guilty to a federal felony charge of conspiracy, I lost many of rights that my fellow citizens enjoy: the right to vote, hold office, serve on a jury, have a firearm. The collateral consequences of a federal felony conviction go much further than that: I cannot work in certain professions, cannot access certain government programs, can be denied housing, employment and access to financial products.
My situation is not unique. One in every three people in America have a felony conviction, and that does not include the number of Americans with a misdemeanor on their record. Some may think that those who were convicted of committing a crime do not deserve to enjoy the same liberties and freedoms they did prior to their conviction.
That argument could hold if we were certain that everyone convicted of a crime is guilty. 98% of federal cases, including mine, are resolved by a plea bargain. One may think that an innocent person would never plead guilty, but analyses of plea-bargained cases show otherwise. 18% of incarcerated individuals who were later exoneratedoriginally plead guilty – despite knowing they were innocent. Innocent people accept pleas because they can no longer sustain the stress and expense of years-long legal battles. Pleas represent an opportunity to avoid the risk of facing a longer sentence when prosecutors stack charges and courts apply mandatory minimums.
When an accused person accepts a plea agreement, they avoid the risk of facing a longer sentence if they lose at trial. The cost of accepting a plea: questions of law and alleged facts are never made public or evaluated by a jury. These conditions increase the likelihood of false convictions. As a result, not everyone who is incarcerated in the United States has committed a crime.
But the real threats to American freedoms happen well before a guilty verdict is issued. In America, police detectives obtain warrants based on false information, federal law enforcement officials hide evidence, and prosecutors fail to disclose exculpatory evidence. Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights are routinely violated by unlawful search and seizure of electronic information. Gag Orders prohibit accused American’s from defending themselves and violate First Amendment protections. This happens every day in America. In 1976, the Supreme Court held that prosecutors and their agents have unqualified immunity, meaning they cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing.
And let’s not forget about the violence, abuse and human rights violations that happen in America’s correctional initiations. Correctional institutions in America deny access to adequate mental health care and medical treatment. Correctional institutions also fail to report deaths and underreport instances of sexual abuse and physical abuseperpetuated by corrections officers. What happened to Amini also happens in America.
America Needs a Mirror
The conditions in Iran are unjustifiable in any terms. Human beings have human rights. These are rights that transcend the governmental power structure.
The protests in Iran provide Americans with an opportunity to examine more closely what happens in their own country. My first-hand experience of the American government suggests we are not much better at protecting citizens’ human or individual rights.
Americans should support Iranians in their struggle for freedom. But that should not distract us from taking a closer look at what needs to change at home to stop the systematic violation of rights in their own country.