The protests initially started in the region where the young woman was from but spread countrywide. The regime has been careful not to massacre protesters because it is afraid the protests will grow out of control.
In a recent article, former Iranian minister of education Mohammad Bathai, who served in the second government of Hassan Rouhani until 2018, discussed some of the hurdles Iran now faces in confronting its own people.
The interview with the former official was published in Iran’s Tasnim News and was revealing in the sense that it shows a self-critique of the regime and reflects the Islamic Republic's concerns that it is on the verge of alienating an entire generation.
For two months, young Iranians have been involved in protests. They have also seen that they can protest at schools, universities and in town squares across the country and realize that the regime cannot control everything. This is why videos that come out of the protests often show not just demonstrations, but also women not covering their hair, in defiance of the theocratic patriarchal far-right regime in Tehran. READ MORE
