Iranian women have often used images of actions such as singing and dancing unveiled to show what freedom means to them and to protest the Islamic Republic’s gender oppression.
Protestors are pressing the Iranian regime for changes since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
AP Photo/Emrah Gurel
Morality police first appeared in Iran soon after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. But similar forces were present in parts of the Middle East even prior to the date.
As calls for greater freedom grow, the author examines how secularism might work in Iran.
A placard with a picture of Mahsa Amini, whose death while being detained by Iran’s morality police has ignited a wave of protests across the country.
(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Iranian women have a long history of campaigning for their rights. The latest protests bring together a host of religious and gender groups suppressed by the country’s clerical regime.
In this Sept. 21, 2022, photo, Iranian demonstrators gather along a street in Tehran.
AFP via Getty Images
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been forced to accept second-class citizenship, as Shiite religious leaders control most aspects of women’s lives.
Ebrahim Raisi, seen here during a 2017 rally, is expected to win Iran’s presidential election.
AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
Reformists are calling for the emancipation of religion from a state that’s seen to exploit Islam for purposes of political power. This remains the most formidable challenge to Iran’s ruling clergy.
Iranian voters, fed up with politics as usual, have demanded the ouster of both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
Amr Alfiky/Reuters
11 activists have died in prison since Iran’s mass protests were crushed in January. Now, some detainees’ families are keeping a daily vigil outside jails. It’s a sign that unrest in Iran is not over.
The century since the first world war is littered with the broken promises of Muslim rulers to bring about a transition to more representative forms of government.
AAP/Asmaa Abdelatif
The rise of Islamic State and its declaration of the caliphate can be read as part of a wider story that has unfolded since the formation of modern nation states in the Muslim world.