In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini is arrested by the religious police in Tehran for wearing her hijab incorrectly. After her arrest, she is beaten by security forces, falls into a coma and dies. The murder of the young Iranian woman has triggered nationwide outrage: since September 16, 2022, Iranians of all ages from all parts of the country, from different educational backgrounds and professional groups have been protesting not only against the security forces, but also against the state leadership and the political-Islamic system. At the center of this movement are young women as driving forces. If protests have taken place again and again in recent years, this time they are far more extensive and seem to have enormously broad social support.
The question arises whether this movement is actually different from the previous waves of protests and whether it is more sustainable. Are we really witnessing the beginning of a necessary political and social transformation of Iran this time, or will the regime manage to contain the protests again? We discuss these and other questions with the journalist Solmaz Khorsand.