From their beginnings in Iran’s Kurdistan province, the demonstrations have now spread throughout the country. The US-based Institute for the Study of War, which has been closely monitoring developments, counted at least 30 protests taking place in 15 cities across 11 of Iran’s provinces in the first days of November.
These included a commercial strike in Saqqez, hometown of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, whose death at the hands of the authorities triggered the current unrest. Students demonstrated at a variety of locations across Tehran. Mashhad, Sanandaj, Mariwan and many other cities witnessed unrest.
The chants of the protesters are no longer limited to calls for ending the compulsory wearing of the hijab, or indeed to the generic call of “Women, Life, Freedom” – originally a Kurdish revolutionary slogan the Iranian demonstrators made their own.
Rather, the demonstrators now are openly calling for the overthrow of the Islamic regime, which has ruled Iran for the last 40 years. Frequently, now, according to multiple reports, slogans such as “death to the dictator” and “death to the system” may be heard. READ MORE
