The US magazine "Time" has crowned the women of Iran "heroes of the year". The movement they are leading on the streets across the country is "educated, secular, liberal" and women took to the streets after the death of the young Kurdish Mahsa Amini “they have the freedom to say and wear anything”. Among the many reasons why the protests have gone on for so long is a "stuttering response" from a government that recognizes the legitimacy of the complaint, writes "Time". So far the protests that erupted last September in Iran have seen the death of about 400 protesters, killed by the security forces.
A tribute written by former Time columnist Azadeh Moaveni highlights women's roles in past protests in Iran that have built toward this moment, while highlighting the singularity of the current movement.
Excerpts:
"These younger women are now in the streets. The movement they’re leading is educated, liberal, secular, raised on higher expectations, and desperate for normality: college and foreign travel, decent jobs, rule of law, access to the Apple Store, a meaningful role in politics, the freedom to say and wear whatever," Moaveni wrote.
"The average age of arrested protesters is notably low—Iranian officials estimate as young as 15. I can only conclude that when a generation’s aspirations for freedom appear tantalizingly within reach, the more humiliating the remaining restrictions seem, and the less daunting the final stretch of resistance feels."
"No one, not the officials in Iran nor governments around the world who’ve made hostility to women a brand of politics, saw the power of a girl standing on a utility box, demanding to be left alone."