8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS WOMEN'S RIGHTS DECEMBER 30, 2022 Women, life, freedom: What you should know about Iran's protest September 16, 2022, is a day that will forever be remembered in Iranian history. On this day, the religious morality police in the country of Iran killed an innocent woman by the name of Mahsa Amini. She was only 22 years old. In present day Iran, the government in power is an strict Islamic regime, forcing authoritarian religious laws on its citizens. One of these laws is forcing all women to wear a hijab in public. On September 13, Mahsa was out walking with her hijab only partially covering her hair. The morality police took her into custody and three days later, she was dead. The government tried to claim that her death was caused by pre-existing medical issues, but her family vehemently denied this, saying that Mahsa was completely healthy and did not have any medical conditions. Since her death, protests have shot up all over the country as the Iranian public was enraged after hearing the news of her death. These protests have continued across Iran and have gained traction all around the world. In response, the government has responded with cruel and extreme actions, from arresting thousands of protesters, to detaining political prisoners for long periods of time, and in RYAN YOUNESSI U-M student contributor many cases executing some of them. Even with the horrifying actions taken by the government, the protests have not been quelled. Iranians have responded to the situation in a multitude of ways. Individuals of all ages have marched demanding that change take place in the country. The majority of these protesters are young people, sometimes as young as 14 or 15 years old. Some protests have even gone to the extent of shutting down different sectors of the economy, with workers boycotting and not showing up to work, even in critical areas of the economy such as oil and steel. The protests have significantly differed from ones in past years. First, instead of calling for reforms in the law or modernization of the government system, protesters are demanding a total upheaval of the regime and the ushering in of a new government. Second, the protests do not seem to have a singular figure representing the movement. Third, the individuals participating in the protests are from regions all over Iran and even in the heavily religious areas of Mashhad and Qom. This phenomenon has never happened in the past. Additionally, there has been a resounding reaction from the international community. From foreign leaders all across the world, including figures like President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emanuel Macron, to the European Union and United Nations, a response like this has not been witnessed. People all over the world have been protesting in big cities and even in their local communities. Just in the past two months, six different protests have taken place in the city of Ann Arbor. The protests have not stopped yet, and it is the hope of many that some long overdue change will take place in Iran. Since the start of the protests, the Iranian government has responded with violence and condemnation. Due to Join the Conversation! Unarmed Crisis Response Team Public Forum In April 2021, the Ann Arbor City Council passed Resolution R-21-129 to develop an unarmed crisis response team. The City of Ann Arbor asked Public Sector Consultants, a nonpartisan research and consulting firm, to gather feedback from community members about the best way to create a team of unarmed social and human services professionals to respond to crisis and public safety calls in the city. Join the conversation at one of the upcoming public forums! Monday, January 9 1:00 PM Downtown Ann Arbor District Library 343 S. Fifth Avenue Multipurpose room— basement Thursday, January 12 6:00 PM Pittsfield Ann Arbor District Library Branch 2359 Oak Valley Drive Program room Thursday, January 19 6:00 PM Virtual via Zoom https://pscinc.co/discuss Meeting ID: 859 4501 3079 Passcode: 090446 censorship of the government, it is not known the exact number of individuals who have been arrested or killed, but outside groups believe that over 15,000 people have been arrested, and several hundred people have been killed. The government has tried to claim that Western nations instigated the protests in the nation and that they are behind the protests, but this is simply not true. With the government in control of all media and the internet, they have used state-run television to provide misinformation to the Iranian public about the protests; they also shut down the internet, disconnecting social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram to stop Iranians from communicating with one another and the outside world. Even with the horrible actions taken by the government, the Iranian people have refused to give up. With protests still going on, there is no sign of them stopping. The new generation of Iranians are ready for a different Iran than they grew up in and there is no stopping them from achieving their goal. There is a long fight ahead but the international community must coalesce see IRAN next page
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