As Iran marks the 41st anniversary of its Islamic Revolution today, February 11, the country is gripped with widespread public discontent over a wide range of issues including politics, economy and social freedoms. In fact, the Iranian authorities have just overcome their worst socio-political unrest in four-decades in the final months of 2019 which, according to different sources, left hundreds of people killed and thousands more arrested.
Iran marks the 41st anniversary of its Islamic Revolution today, February 11, 2020.
Throughout the past 41 years, the Islamic Republic has witnessed many ups and downs, some of which have strongly challenged its ruling system both inside and abroad. However, none has been robust enough to lead into fundamental reforms or to bring about another 1979-like revolution which had led to the overthrow of the Western-backed Pahlavi monarchy.
In the absence of an American diplomatic presence in Iran since the 1979 US hostage crisis and the limited and mostly biased coverage of Iranian developments by Western mainstream media, there has been a general misunderstanding of the Islamic Republic and Iranian people ever since. So much so that reporting of Western visitors’ to Iran are quite contrary to their preconceptions nearly 100 percent of the time.
The Islamic Republic has witnessed at least three major nationwide protests over the past decades which have been widely reflected by global media triggering reactions by world leaders and activists.
The Islamic Republic has witnessed at least three major nationwide protests over the past decades which have been widely reflected by global media triggering reactions by world leaders and activists. Despite some commonalities, these protests have had some fundamental differences which were generally overlooked – sometimes intentionally – by politicians and observers.
2009 Contested Presidential Elections
The 2009 protests broke out after the unexpected re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the defeat of his top challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi had already declared himself the winner by a wide margin when the Iranian interior ministry announced Ahmadinejad as the official winner. Demonstrations broke out in Tehran and spread to other major cities across the country turning into the most politically intense protests of the Islamic Republic in a decade.
Defeated candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi challenged the result and became leaders of what was called the Green Movement. There was a widespread crackdown against demonstrators that year and dozens of opposition supporters were reportedly killed. Many of the top opposition figures were detained. Both Mousavi and Karroubi still remain under house arrest.
Main features:
- Demand: Re-run of the election
- Participants: Mostly from the middle class and intellectuals
- Geography: Mostly in Tehran and other major cities
- Duration: About 8 months
- Casualties: Government says 36 people died while unofficial claims put it as high as 72 people.
2017 Anti-Government Protests
The 2017 Protests against the government of President Hassan Rouhani – which were staged by rival forces within the system but went out of control – erupted in Mashhad and several more cities in Khorasan Razavi province. They then spread to other cities within a week and turned into anti-regime rallies. Demonstrators blamed high living costs on the government’s policies including the regime’s financial support for Syria, Palestine, Yemen, and Lebanon. Some even chanted slogans against the clerics and in support of the ousted Shah regime.
Main features:
- Demand: Addressing economic problems while calling for the removal of top officials and a change in policies.
- Participants: Mostly from low-income and working-class families
- Geography: Across the country but limited to larger cities
- Duration: About 1 week
- Casualties: 21 people
2019 November Protests
The 2019 rallies began on November 15 against a sudden spike in gasoline prices and rationing. What began as scattered protests over an increase in gasoline prices quickly morphed into one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Officials described the protesters as “rioters” and “hooligans”
Main features:
- Demand: Against sudden increase of gasoline prices
- Participants: Mostly from low-income and working-class families with limited participation of the middle class.
- Geography: Began nationwide, but mostly in small and mostly poorer towns and cities.
- Duration: 3 days in major towns, 6-7 days in smaller towns.
- Casualties: No official counts yet, but claims vary between 170 to 1,500
While all these protests have been described as anti-regime both inside and outside Iran, there are concrete differences. Whereas the 2009 protests were held by mostly the middle class in major cities, the 2017 and late 2019 rallies were shorter and held in smaller towns with low-income families and the younger generation playing a significant role. In 2009, the paramount protesters’ demands were the re-run of the election and greater political freedom. By contrast, during the latter unrests, resolving economic challenges, unemployment, and high inflation were the protesters’ main requests and resulted in more violence.
Iran: 41 Years Later
The realities on the ground indicate that contrary to what Western officials and mainstream media portray, the Islamic Republic is not on the verge of collapse despite all its shortcomings and popular dissatisfaction at least for the visible future. It is at the same time very important to note – just as the Iranian rulers have – that local discontent over a series of issues and among a wide range of social classes has reached its highest level since the 1979 revolution.
Despite all the progress the country has achieved in many scientific and industrial fields, its ailing economy, caused by internal mismanagement, widespread corruption, and social inequality, and exacerbated by US sanctions, is the Islamic Republic’s Achilles’ heel.
Despite all the progress the country has achieved in many scientific and industrial fields, its ailing economy, caused by internal mismanagement, widespread corruption, and social inequality, and exacerbated by US sanctions, is the Islamic Republic’s Achilles’ heel.
While demands for more social freedoms and other issues like the relaxation of compulsory hijab for women have been increasing in recent years, improvement of economic issues, social equality, and removal of corrupt officials are the main stated priorities of most Iranians, just as reflected during recent major protests.
It is true that public slogans have become stronger and even satirical against ruling officials in recent years, but they don’t yet translate to people’s thirst for an overthrow of the political system. Popular demands lean more towards fundamental but incremental reforms than outright revolution.
As Taghi Azadarmaki, the sociology professor at Tehran University believes, today’s main issue in Iran is rather the “absence of social justice and inequality” more than anything else. Indeed, upholding social justice and eliminating rampant inequality were the Islamic Revolution’s core promises in 1979. And so far, it has failed to deliver.
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* The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Inside Arabia.
