Status: 03.10.2022 18:14
The protests in Iran continue. Apparently, students from different social classes are now demonstrating. Could the protests reach a critical mass?
It’s one of the countless videos online from the weekend, shot out of focus so that no faces can be seen. It is intended to show students at Tehran’s renowned Sharif University: “They turned Tehran into a prison and Evin prison into a university,” they sing. Because many students who are arrested by the security forces during the protests are allegedly taken to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
Other videos also show women in hijab, i.e. headscarves, and chadors at the university protests. The chador is the large dark cloth that religious conservative women wear all over their bodies. “Of course, this also shows that very, very many people, who may also wear the hijab voluntarily, show solidarity with what is happening in Iran,” says Islamic scholar Katajun Amirpur. “Because they argue: ‘Even if we want to wear the hijab voluntarily, that doesn’t mean that we should force the hijab on others’.”
Student demos show the breadth of the protests
A place at a state university is popular, explains Amirpur – and not only in conservative circles. But you have to stick to certain rules: guardians of morals check the appearance of the students. Anyone who has nail polish on their fingernails or whose hijab does not fit as prescribed cannot get in, says Amirpur.
Iranians from very different social classes study at the universities – so it can be assumed that the protests will be supported by a broad mass of people. That hasn’t been the case for a long time, says Amirpur:
In the past, however, it was often the case that they [die Studierenden, Anm. d. Red.] held back a little, because you can of course react very quickly to them with restrictive measures. So they fear being exmatriculated immediately. However, the fact that the students are now taking to the streets also suggests that the critical mass that would be needed to overthrow the regime could be reached.
Also attacks by the police on teachers
This regime is also using all its power against the protests at the weekend. There are numerous videos, especially from Tehran’s Sharif University. For example, one shows a real hunt through the underground car park. Others show security forces using tear gas, batons and allegedly live ammunition. Gunshots can be heard.
Several tweeted that the security forces also beat up teachers. They have to pass a kind of attitude test during the introductory interview at the university, but “on the other hand, the controls at Iranian universities are not so pervasive in the seminar room that you would really check what is said at every point,” explains Amirpur . “There is also the possibility of dissent and you hear it again and again in the seminar rooms, in the classrooms.” Be convinced that many professors share the basic attitude of their students, says Amirpur.
Parents and relatives are said to be protesting in front of the university. They demand that those arrested be released, some of them knowing nothing at all about their whereabouts. There are horn concerts on the streets. Allegedly, cars are blocking access roads to the Tehran university to block the way for security forces.
The reason for the protests – which have now been going on for more than two weeks – is the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran. She had not worn her headscarf according to the rules.
Violence in protests at Tehran University
Karin Senz, ARD Istanbul, October 3, 2022 4:02 p.m