Iran’s protest generation on why they won’t be silenced
There have been arrests, violence and a rising death toll during more than seven weeks of protests in Iran. Demonstrators across the country – many of whom are students or even schoolchildren – are refusing to back down. What do they want and why are they willing to risk everything to get it?
Nergis and Mohsin are Iranian students. They have been part of the protests that have swept the Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country’s morality police. Despite a fierce government crackdown, in which almost 10,000 people have been arrested and internet access blocked, the students say they will not stop marching.
Journalist Deepa Parent, who has been following the demonstrations, tells Michael Safi how, despite the repression, she has kept in contact with protesters, many of whom are students or even schoolchildren. And she explains why, despite knowing they are risking their lives, they will not remain silent.
But what do this young generation of protesters want – and how is their attitude to the regime different from those who have joined the previous protests that have peppered the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
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