On 16 September 2022, Mahsa Amini died in police custody. This young Iranian Kurd had been arrested by the Iranian morality police for wearing "inappropriate clothing". This tragedy then triggered a wave of demonstrations. Six months later, where is the protest? "Maybe in the streets we see fewer demonstrations, but the anger is still there. It's still very deep," said Mariam Pirzadeh, editor-in-chief of France 24 and a former correspondent in Iran. In the face of deadly repression, large gatherings are now fewer and protests continue in the form of acts of civil disobedience. "I think the Iranians know that this movement can be long," Pirzadeh said.
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"A new detonator"
In recent months, anger has also crystallized around the case of the poisoning of thousands of young girls by gas in schools in the country, which has shocked Iranian society. "We don't touch children, it's a bit of a red line, as the red line was the death of Mahsa Amini for a veil that was badly worn, so it can be a new trigger of anger," said the former correspondent in Iran.
More than three months after the first cases of poisoning, the Ministry of the Interior announced on March 7 the first arrests, without giving details on the identity of those arrested, nor released any photos, leaving part of the population skeptical. "Is it a very extremist fringe of the regime that has spiraled out of control and has embarked on a kind of vendetta to try to silence this protest? Whatever happens, despite the repression, despite the executions, the anger is still there, and it will not go away by tomorrow," Pirzadeh said.
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