{"id":829597,"date":"2022-10-06T16:50:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T16:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=3467870b41867c031b76eca202f7e5d4"},"modified":"2022-10-06T16:50:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T16:50:17","slug":"in-iran-feminists-rise-up-to-imagine-what-comes-after-the-islamic-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/10\/06\/in-iran-feminists-rise-up-to-imagine-what-comes-after-the-islamic-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"In Iran, Feminists Rise Up to Imagine \u201cWhat Comes After the Islamic Republic\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"introtext\">Image Credit: West Asia News Agency<\/aside>\n<p>Protesters in Iran are continuing to demand justice for Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in the hands of the so-called morality police, as well as envisioning a political future beyond the Islamic Republic. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights estimates at least 154 people have been killed since the protests began. \u201cWe saw women, really, what it seemed like for the first time, putting their bodies in direct confrontation with the police,\u201d says Nilo Tabrizy, writer and video journalist at The New York Times. \u201cToday\u2019s movement is not calling for reform. Today\u2019s movement is calling for a new vision of politics \u2026 with women at the helm of it,\u201d says Narges Bajoghli, professor of anthropology and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n<h2>TRANSCRIPT<\/h2>\n<p><em>This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> \u201cWoman! Life! Freedom!\u201d That\u2019s the rallying cry in Iran and cities around the world as protests continue demanding justice for Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who died after she was detained by Iran\u2019s so-called morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. Amini died on September 16th. Protests broke out the next day. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights says at least 154 people have been killed since the protests began in Iran nearly three weeks ago. In a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/10\/05\/iran-security-forces-fire-kill-protesters\">report<\/a>, Human Rights Watch has accused Iran\u2019s security forces of using shotguns, assault rifles and handguns against peaceful protesters. The full extent of the protests or the security crackdown remains unknown, as the Iranian government has disrupted internet access in parts of Iran and blocked some messaging apps.<\/p>\n<p>But some video of the protests continue to get out. This video, obtained by Reuters, shows a group of female students heckling a member of an Iranian paramilitary force, known as the Basiji. The female students are heard chanting, \u201cBasiji, get lost!\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">PROTESTERS<\/span>:<\/strong> [translated] Basiji, get lost! Basiji, get lost! Basiji, get lost! Basiji, get lost! Basiji, get lost!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> We begin today\u2019s show with two guests. Narges Bajoghli is an anthropologist and professor of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University. She\u2019s the author of <em>Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic<\/em>. Her latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2022\/09\/mahsa-amini-irans-protests-rebellion-bodily-autonomy\">piece<\/a> for <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> is headlined \u201c&#8217;Woman, Life, Freedom&#8217;: Iran\u2019s Protests Are a Rebellion for Bodily Autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also with us is Nilo Tabrizy. She is an Iranian-born video journalist who works at <em>The New York Times<\/em>. Her most recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/04\/world\/asia\/iran-protest-video-analysis.html\">piece<\/a> is titled \u201cWhat Video Footage Reveals About the Protests in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s go to those pictures first. Nilo, if you could start off by talking about this project at <em>The New York Times<\/em> and what the video shows?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NILO<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">TABRIZY<\/span>:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Amy.<\/p>\n<p>So, we examined videos that primarily were coming out in the first week, week and a half of the protests. That\u2019s when the internet connection was not as disrupted as what we\u2019re seeing right now. So, we saw multiple things, and I can kind of boil it down into three main visual trends that we saw.<\/p>\n<p>We saw that protesters were targeting symbols of the state. So, we saw protesters tearing down posters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; the founder of the Islamic Republic. We saw protesters attacking police stations and government building complexes.<\/p>\n<p>And another main thing that we saw, which has been very much the topic of conversation about these protests, was really seeing women in the lead. So that\u2019s everything from the defining images of seeing women burning their hijabs in public to women cutting their hair as a form of protest. And as well, we heard a lot of women-centric slogans. Like you just said, \u201d<i>Zan, Zendegi, Azadi<\/i>,\u201d that\u2019s very much been at the forefront of these protests.<\/p>\n<p>And as well, something that Dr. Bajoghli has written about, we saw women, really, what it seems like for the first time, putting their bodies in direct confrontation with the police. So, they\u2019re, you know, actually going to physically fight them, going up to them, being very bold. This really stood out to us, and we saw that in multiple places across the country.<\/p>\n<p>And the last thing that we saw is just these protests have been so widespread. So we\u2019ve seen solidarity among social class, different regions, different ethnic backgrounds. And something that really stood out to us for that is we saw protests in religious and traditionally conservative cities that are regime strongholds, like Qom and Mashhad, where we can hear protesters saying, \u201cDeath to the Islamic Republic.\u201d And as well, we saw \u2014 we could hear the chant, \u201d<i>Zan, Zendegi, Azadi<\/i>,\u201d which originates from Kurdish. We heard people chanting it in Kurdish in Tehran, so well outside of Kurdistan, which, to us, really showed, you know, the solidarity across the country.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NERMEEN<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">SHAIKH<\/span>:<\/strong> And, Nilo Tabrizy, if you could also talk about the state symbols that have been attacked during these protests and the significance of those state symbols? And in addition to this main chant, \u201d<i>Zan, Zendegi, Azadi<\/i>\u201d \u2014 \u201cWoman, Life, Freedom\u201d \u2014 there have also been others. What are the ones that have really caught on?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NILO<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">TABRIZY<\/span>:<\/strong> Sure, absolutely. So, in terms of state symbols, we\u2019ve seen, like I said, tearing down the poster of Khomeini. We\u2019ve seen protesters tear down pictures of Ali Khamenei, the current supreme leader. We\u2019ve seen them tear down posters of Soleimani. And seeing this is just very \u2014 you know, it\u2019s a very bold thing to see. There\u2019s so much repression in the state that seeing people tear down these symbols really gives us a visual understanding of what these protests are towards. It seems like they are very much calling for, you know, a complete restructure and a complete dissatisfaction with the current order.<\/p>\n<p>And as well, in terms of the other chants that have caught on, yeah, I mean, the main ones that we kept seeing are \u201d<i>Zan, Zendegi, Azadi<\/i>.\u201d We are seeing, you know, \u201cDeath to the Islamic Republic,\u201d \u201cDeath to Khomeini,\u201d really calling for a downfall of the system. Those were the main ones coming through.<\/p>\n<p>And this is something that, you know, perhaps Dr. Bajoghli might have her thoughts on, but something that we saw was these chants are very much women-centered. So, in 2009, for example, when Neda was killed in the Green Movement protests, she very much became a symbol of state repression. There were chants at that time that chanted her name. This time around, we\u2019re not necessarily hearing \u201cMahsa,\u201d \u201cZhina,\u201d her name so much. We\u2019re really hearing \u201d<i>Zan, Zendegi, Azadi<\/i>.\u201d And we\u2019re also hearing chants that particularly had male references translated into women-centric references. So, the chant, for example, that we might have heard in previous protests is \u201cI will defend,\u201d you know, \u201cI will seek revenge for my brother\u201d; we\u2019re hearing that \u201cI will seek revenge,\u201d or \u201cI will defend my sister.\u201d So, we\u2019re really hearing that translated into a women-centric chant to reflect the movement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NERMEEN<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">SHAIKH<\/span>:<\/strong> Professor Narges Bajoghli, your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2022\/09\/mahsa-amini-irans-protests-rebellion-bodily-autonomy\">piece<\/a> for <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> is headlined \u201c&#8217;Woman, Life, Freedom&#8217;: Iran\u2019s Protests Are a Rebellion for Bodily Autonomy.\u201d In the piece, you make a very interesting point, which is that Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish girl around whom these protests began, around her death, that her real name, Zhina, a Kurdish name, could not actually officially be registered under Iranian law. So, could you explain why that is, and the significance of these protests beginning around the death of this young Kurdish woman?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NARGES<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">BAJOGHLI<\/span>:<\/strong> Kurds in Iran have been repressed both pre-revolution and post-revolution. A lot of the ethnic minorities in Iran, especially those who live in the border areas, have faced both severe repression, as well as very few resources go into those areas of the country for development, for job opportunities, for all of those things. And many Kurds, as well as some other ethnic minorities in Iran, are not allowed to teach their languages in schools. And Zhina\u2019s name could not be registered under Iranian law, because under Iranian law only certain Persian and Islamic names can be registered formally. And so they had to register her Persian name, Mahsa, instead of her Kurdish name, Zhina.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s significant that this uprising has started over the death of a Kurdish girl who was visiting Tehran. She didn\u2019t live in Tehran; she lived in Saqqez, a town in Iranian Kurdistan. And, you know, these issues over identity and ethnicity have often been sort of faultlines that states have used in Iran to not allow solidarity to take place across the country. And what we see is that a nation rose up in defense of the death of a Kurdish girl, and the central slogan, as Nilo has been mentioning, of this entire uprising is a slogan that originates in Kurdish, comes from a militant feminist Kurdish background, from Turkey, first of all, and then gets translated into the Kurdish women fighting in Syria against <span class=\"caps\">ISIS<\/span> in 2014 and 2015, and then it travels around, and it comes to Iran. And the reason that it becomes a national cry is because during her funeral you can hear mourners chanting that slogan. It gets captured on video, it circulates on social media, and then it spills out into Persian all across the country.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> Professor, in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2022\/09\/mahsa-amini-irans-protests-rebellion-bodily-autonomy\">piece<\/a> in <em>Vanity Fair<\/em>, you write, \u201cIt is only fitting that it\u2019s Iran\u2019s feminist revolution and the country\u2019s young generations that are on the front lines of battles for bodily autonomy and sovereignty. For four decades, Iranian women and queers have borne the brunt of a political system predicated on their subjugation through daily policing and criminalization. They\u2019re now showing the world \u2014 despite the severe repression and potential death they face \u2014 how to fight back, like feminists.\u201d Take it from there.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NARGES<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">BAJOGHLI<\/span>:<\/strong> Yes. So, this is really, at its core, a fight for women and queer folks to have choices over their bodies. So, what\u2019s really important, as Nilo was providing the context, is that the Islamic Republic has implemented laws that are severely restrictive for women since the very beginnings of the 1979 revolution and the start of the state. And what\u2019s significant here about what happened to Amini is that she was caught at the hands of the so-called morality police, which are a police force that are a daily occurrence all across Iran. All women have had some kind of interactions with the morality police, and families, including religious ones, have had some form of interaction with these police, because their daughters may not be veiling as religiously as the mothers have. And so this is something that women are dealing with every day. When Amini was taken, at first ended up in a coma and later died from the injuries that she sustained, what we are seeing is that the ways in which women in Iran have been resisting every single day against these restrictions over the past 40 years, we now see this as a rupture in collective action. So, it\u2019s not surprising to me that sort of this generation\u2019s and, in our global moment, our generation\u2019s first big feminist uprising, that is militant in style, is taking place in Iran on this level, because Iranian women have over four decades of experience of daily acts of resistance against patriarchical laws and against partriarchical norms.<\/p>\n<p>And so, as conservative movements are rising across the world, as we see more and more laws that are coming down against women \u2014 and, you know, I think it\u2019s worth noting that conservative movements, when they rise, and religious movements, when they rise, first and foremost, they go after the rights of women. And so, right now I think even though traditional media has been very slow to cover this uprising, it\u2019s been internet users all over the world that have made hashtag #MahsaAmini trend. And that\u2019s the reason we\u2019re all having this conversation today. So it\u2019s striking a chord with people all over the world who are, in one way or another, experiencing, either once again or a continuation of, increased patriarchical control over women\u2019s bodies. And so, the protests in Iran are capturing our attention because we\u2019re seeing, in real life, how women are putting their lives on the line and are refusing to comply any longer. You know, power and patriarchy require that we comply. And so, we\u2019re seeing now young women and women across Iran who are just saying, \u201cI will no longer comply with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NERMEEN<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">SHAIKH<\/span>:<\/strong> Professor Bajoghli, I want to ask you about what you see as the potential outcome of these protests. I was listening to an interview on the <span class=\"caps\">BBC<\/span> with renowned Iranian graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, who said that, irrespective of what happens, the Islamic Republic is now a corpse. But you write in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2022\/09\/mahsa-amini-irans-protests-rebellion-bodily-autonomy\">piece<\/a> that \u2014 in your <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> piece that the \u201cstreet rebellions may or may not &#8216;succeed&#8217; in toppling the regime or changing the laws \u2014 but that is almost beside the point.\u201d Can you explain what you mean by that, and what the effects of these protests might be, even if the regime doesn\u2019t fall?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NARGES<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">BAJOGHLI<\/span>:<\/strong> Right. So, we don\u2019t \u2014 you know, I don\u2019t have a crystal ball. I can\u2019t predict what\u2019s going to happen. But at the moment what is very significant about these protests is that women are taking control back from the state. They are saying, \u201cWe will not allow you to define how we come out onto the street. We will define this for ourselves.\u201d And so, what is significant here is that, you know, when you rise up against powers and things that have been around for millennia, like patriarchy, which is, you know, one of \u2014 unfortunately, one of the universal values that we see around us, this is something that it takes a \u2014 we have to be able to envision that we can live in a society without that. And so, what that requires is a representation of resisting that kind of power. And what we have now in Iran, for Iranians, which is extremely significant, is that we have, on a daily basis now, various forms of civil disobedience which are about standing up against patriarchical power. And we\u2019re seeing more and more slogans also that say, \u201cIt might not be always be the morality police, but the morality police could also be called your father.\u201d So it\u2019s going to the core of patriarchy in the state and patriarchy in the home. And it\u2019s really \u2014 and that\u2019s what makes this feminist to its core. It\u2019s saying that in order for us to have any kind of freedom, political or otherwise, women need to be free.<\/p>\n<p>And so, the long-term consequences of this are significant, because what we see also in Iran is that young girls in schools \u2014 elementary school students, middle school students, high school students \u2014 are, as you guys showed on your piece, are throwing out those who have enforced these laws in their schools for over four decades. And so, this is just the start of women and girls seeing their power, seeing it reverberate, and then seeing it \u2014 and seeing so many people around the world showing solidarity to it. And that is significant for Iran, but it\u2019s also significant for all of us as we\u2019re sitting here contemplating how we\u2019re going to be fighting back against all of these laws that are trying to restrict our bodies now. We are now seeing a very confrontational, militant form of feminism rising up from Iran showing us how to do that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> During a speech in the European Union Assembly, a Swedish member of the Parliament, Abir Al-Sahlani, cut her hair in solidarity with the Iranian protests Tuesday evening in Strasbourg, France.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">ABIR<\/span> AL-<span class=\"caps\">SAHLANI<\/span>:<\/strong> The hands of the regime of the mullahs in Iran is stained with blood. Neither history nor Allah or God Almighty will forgive you for the crimes against humanity that you\u2019re committing against your own citizens. We, the peoples and the citizens of the EU, demand the unconditional and immediate stop of all the violence against the women and men in Iran. Until Iran is free, our fury will be bigger than the oppressors. Until the women of Iran are free, we are going to stand with you. \u201d<i>Jin, Jiyan, Azadi<\/i>.\u201d Woman! Life! Freedom!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> There has been dramatic video of solidarity with the protests in Iran all over the world. In addition to the protests drawing thousands and thousands of people, including in Los Angeles, which has a very large Iranian American community, and the Swedish MP that we just played, prominent French actresses, from Juliette Binoche to Isabelle Huppert, also posted a video online cutting their hair. Nilo, if you can talk, since you\u2019re examining these video, one, about the video getting out of Iran, but, two, the video of these actions of solidarity? How easy is it for people in Iran, for the women to see this solidarity, when apps are being shut down, etc.?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NILO<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">TABRIZY<\/span>:<\/strong> Absolutely. So, yes, the internet crackdown is happening right now. I have a hard time reaching my family members. But Iranians are really smart. They know how to move and maneuver around state repression. It\u2019s something that they have been doing for years. So there are windows and ways in which that they can see the outside world, and how videos are still getting sent out to people like me who are watching and monitoring. Videos are very much our primary window into what\u2019s going on in Iran, given the repression of domestic journalists and international journalists that are \u2014 that once were accredited to be based there. So this is really the primary way that we\u2019re seeing it.<\/p>\n<p>And seeing these videos of women in Iran cutting their hair, it\u2019s very moving. It\u2019s something we focused on in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/04\/world\/asia\/iran-protest-video-analysis.html\">piece<\/a>. And when we spoke with one of our experts, Reza Akbari, about it, he said it\u2019s very much the symbol that is unique to these protests. It\u2019s women saying, you know, back to the morality police, back to the state, \u201cIf this is what\u2019s bothering you,\u201d in a sarcastic, bitter way, \u201clet me cut it off.\u201d It\u2019s very powerful, what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>And something that really caught my eye when we were watching the videos coming out, specifically with cutting hair as a form of protest, is there was a video of a protester\u2019s funeral. So, often in the past when protesters have been killed by the state, they\u2019re very much dissuaded from being public at all about it. It\u2019s a quiet burial and things like that. But we saw a video broadcast from one of these funerals that was put on social media that you can see this open grieving, that you can see people grieving for their young family member who was killed in these protests. One of her family members begins to cut her hair over the casket, and so making \u2014 you know, not only making this funeral a public statement, which in itself is very new, shocking and bold in these protests, but adding that visual of cutting her hair on top of it is just \u2014 yeah, it\u2019s incredibly moving to see these images.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NERMEEN<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">SHAIKH<\/span>:<\/strong> Professor Bajoghli, your response? What do you think accounts for the extent of global solidarity in this very visual and open way, not just demonstrations but so many women cutting their hair and posting it online? And if you could compare this also \u2014 in 2009, you were in Iran during the protests called the Green Movement. What differentiates that one from this one?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">NARGES<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">BAJOGHLI<\/span>:<\/strong> Sure. So, to answer your first question, I think the reason this is reverberating so broadly across the world is, again, we\u2019re feeling lots of frustrations all around the world with not just the rise of conservative power but also just the concentration and the monopoly of power around the world, whether it\u2019s by our, you know, different states that we all live in, corporations that we\u2019re \u2014 you know, like all the applications that we all use and the ways in which that they are owned by very, very few companies. And so we\u2019re in this moment in which especially those in the millennial generation and what we call Generation Z are trying \u2014 they are showing outbursts of rebellion and just sort of being like \u201cIt\u2019s enough\u201d towards different forms of power that we have around us, such as the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter movement, hashtag #MeToo movement, hashtag #NiUnaMas in Latin America, and so on and so forth. And this is a moment that is also another one of those where it crystallizes all of these frustrations, and that\u2019s one of the reasons I think it is catching on and showing so much \u2014 there\u2019s so much solidarity around the world.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the difference between this and the 2009 movement in Iran, the Green Movement in Iran, that movement was still very much within the bounds of politics of the Islamic Republic. It was a movement for electoral integrity and for reform of the system. Today\u2019s movement, it\u2019s not calling for reform. Today\u2019s movement is calling for a new vision of politics. It\u2019s calling for a vision of politics that is about life and not destruction, and that is about the future and women at the helm of it. That is significantly different. The protesters today in Iran, they are \u2014 in many ways, they\u2019ve moved beyond the state. This is no longer about the state. This is about trying to create a new political imagination of what comes after the Islamic Republic. And so, this is why this is such a significant moment. It\u2019s not that tomorrow the regime is going to come toppling down, but it\u2019s that for the first time we have a national movement of sorts that has moved beyond the parameters of the state, is no longer looking to reform the state, and that is calling forth a completely new vision for politics in Iran.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> Well, Narges Bajoghli, we want to thank you so much for being with us, anthropologist, professor of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, author of <em>Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic<\/em>. We\u2019ll link to your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2022\/09\/mahsa-amini-irans-protests-rebellion-bodily-autonomy\">piece<\/a> in <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> headlined \u201c&#8217;Woman, Life, Freedom&#8217;: Iran\u2019s Protests Are a Rebellion for Bodily Autonomy.\u201d And Nilo Tabrizy, I want to thank you in Vancouver, journalist and writer, currently a video journalist at <em>The New York Times<\/em>, where your most recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/04\/world\/asia\/iran-protest-video-analysis.html\">piece<\/a> is titled \u201cWhat Video Footage Reveals About the Protests in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to end this segment with the renowned political activist, scholar and author Angela Davis, who expressed her solidarity with protesters in Iran in a video posted on social media. This is an excerpt.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">ANGELA<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">DAVIS<\/span>:<\/strong> I want to offer my heartfelt solidarity to all those in Iran who have decided that Mahsa Amini\u2019s death at the hands of the Islamic Republic shall not be in vain. As one of the many scholar activists in the United States who has identified for a very long time as an ally of progressive and radical movements in Iran, I offer my condolences to Mahsa Amini\u2019s family and friends, and I say thank you to all those whose militant refusals directed at the regime, along with its morality police, have created the occasion for Mahsa Amini\u2019s name to reverberate around the world. In her name, people are standing up and are saying no to the repression meted out by the Islamic Republic. \u2026 They are harbingers of hope, of hope not only for the people of Iran, but for all of us who want an end to racial capitalism, misogyny, economic repression, and who strive for more habitable futures for all beings on this planet. Long live Mahsa Amini.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> Political dissident, activist, author Angela Davis, sending her message of solidarity with the women of Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Coming up, we\u2019ll also hear from India. And as India\u2019s prime minister offers to help efforts to end the war in Ukraine, we\u2019ll speak to the prominent Indian activist Kavita Krishnan. Stay with us.<\/p>\n<p>[break]<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"caps\">AMY<\/span> <span class=\"caps\">GOODMAN<\/span>:<\/strong> \u201cBecause Of,\u201d \u201cBaraye,\u201d by the Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, which has become the unofficial anthem of the Iran protests. The song\u2019s lyrics are taken entirely from messages Iranians have posted online about why they\u2019re protesting. Shervin Hajipour posted the song September 28th and received 40 million views before he was forced to take it down. He was arrested the next day, was released earlier this week on bail. He\u2019s awaiting trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/video\/in-iran-feminists-rise-up-to-imagine-what-comes-after-the-islamic-republic\/\">Latest - Truthout<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Protesters aren&#8217;t calling for limited reforms; they&#8217;re calling for a new vision of politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1462,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1564,3427,6,463,25,52902,35,1269],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829598,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829597\/revisions\/829598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}