In Iran, Teenagers Are Helping To Bring About A Revolution

By Uy Pham

     About a month ago, as the protests in Iran began to garner global attention, a short video emerged on Twitter, shared by a journalist working for the BBC. It showed a teenage girl standing on a stage, dressed in a black T-shirts and pants. Her friends could be heard cheering her on as she held up a microphone and started to sing. There was not anything necessarily remarkable about the video itself; young people having fun is not exactly news.

     That teenage girl was Nika Shakarami. On September 20, she was filmed standing on a garbage bin in the middle of the street. This time, she held not a mic, but a burning head scarf – the symbol of Iranian women’s defiance – in her hand, before tossing what remained of it onto the ground. There was no more singing; instead, she shouted chants for the crowd around her, which cheered in response. It was a powerful image: A young high schooler standing against a regime known for its brutality.

     This clip was recorded just hours before she was detained by state security forces. Eight days later, her family was asked to identify a body. It was Nika.

     Iranian authorities are still denying responsibility for her death, just as they have denied murdering Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who was detained by police for allegedly not wearing her hijab (head scarf) properly.

     But no amount of denying will change what has become apparent: The young people of Iran are angry, and that anger is not going away. Since the death of Amini, which ignited nationwide protests over a month ago, they have been at the forefront, fighting for change. Social media is flooded with images of students marching on the streets, chanting the now iconic cry: “Women – Life – Freedom". They have even brought the fight to their schools: In one video filmed in a classroom, a group of girls stamped on a portrait of Ayatollah Khamenei, the “Supreme Leader” of the Islamic Republic. The message is clear: This is no longer just about the mandating of head scarfs. They want the regime gone.

     Nika Shakarami, along with Amini and many others, is representative of her country’s new generation, full of energetic people who see a better future for themselves and are willing to fight for it. To quote Sarina Esmailzadeh, a 16-year-old YouTuber: "We ask ourselves why aren't we having fun like the young people in New York and Los Angeles?"

     The risk is immense. Sarina died after being beaten to the head with batons while protesting. She and Nika are among the 234 people, including 29 children, who have been killed during the Iranian state’s violent crackdown against protesters. But despite the brutal repression by the regime, the movement is showing no signs of wavering. It seems violence and fear can only do so much against those who are hopeful and fearless.

     Whatever may happen next, one thing is clear: Iran will never be the same again, and its young generation helped make that happen.

 

Esfandiari, Golnaz, director. Twitter, Twitter, 4 Oct. 2022, twitter.com/GEsfandiari/status/1577232749362294784. Accessed 28 Oct. 2022. 

Ghobadi, Parham. “Iran Protests: Iran's Gen Z 'Realise Life Can Be Lived Differently'.” BBC News, BBC, 14 Oct. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63213745. 

Ghobadi, Parham. “Iran: Teen Protester Nika Shakarami's Body Stolen, Sources Say.” BBC News, BBC, 4 Oct. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63128510. 

“In Iran, Schoolgirls Leading Protests for Freedom.” Human Rights Watch, 14 Oct. 2022, www.hrw.org/news/2022/10/12/iran-schoolgirls-leading-protests-freedom.  

“Iran Protests: At Least 234 Including 29 Children Killed/Families and Doctors Pressured to Confirm False Scenarios.” Iran Human Rights | Article: Iran Protests: At Least 234 Including 29 Children Killed/Families and Doctors Pressured to Confirm False Scenarios |, iranhr.net/en/articles/5535/. 

Mezzofiore, Gianluca, et al. “What Really Happened to Nika Shahkarami? Witnesses to Her Final Hours Cast Doubt on Iran's Story.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Oct. 2022, edition.cnn.com/2022/10/27/middleeast/iran-nika-shahkarami-investigation-intl-cmd/index.html.

 

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