Almost half of all young Iranians are enrolled at a university. The regime’s ideological pressure has been high there long before the protests – and yet the loudest voices of protest come from students.
By Paul Jens, ARD Istanbul
“Despite restrictions and repression, the voice of protest can still be heard clearly at universities,” says Hamed from Iran, who does not want his real name published for security reasons. It has been almost two years since the protests began, with people across the country demonstrating against the presumably violent death of student Jina Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing “un-Islamic clothing.” A few days later, Amini died, according to opposition figures in Iran, as a result of violence by the morality police.
Even if the protests did not lead to a change in the system, something has changed, says medical student Mania. “At many universities you can see women appearing in academic settings without headscarves, which is a big change,” she says. “This shows that even if there is no longer a revolutionary atmosphere, the resistance and the spirit of the protests are still there.”
“Until the system collapsed”
The resistance in 2022 was supported by students, among others. This is typical of Iranian society, in which education has always been highly valued. During the protests in 1979 that led to the overthrow of the Shah’s monarchy, students were even more important, says Iran researcher Reinhard Schulze of the University of Bern: “They were able to put themselves at the forefront of the movement in 1979 and were then still relevant in the period that followed until 1980. Until the system collapsed and the state took complete control of the universities.”
In the 1990s, under the regime that still rules today, a number of new universities were founded and today more young people are studying in Iran than ever before: almost every second 18- to 25-year-old is enrolled. But there is no room for free thought and action, because the universities are a network “that serves to mobilize large parts of the population for the system,” says Schulze. “And education was a nationalist education, geared towards the system, towards the state of Iran itself.”
The spirit of change
And so the pressure on students today is high. During the 2022 protests, there were also rallies on university grounds. Militias loyal to the regime surrounded the students and arrested countless of them. That broke the momentum, says sociology student Amin:
“The loss of university places through suspensions, which often led to indirect dismissals, and the restrictions on university services were serious burdens for students and ultimately led to some decline in this engagement.”
The conflict between society and the Islamic leadership is currently no longer being played out at large protest rallies, but rather takes place on a small, everyday basis.
But despite all the repression, the spirit of change still slumbers in the universities: “The protests of the universities, not only in the recent protests but also in those of the last decades, have always revealed this deception of the Islamic Republic,” says Hamed. “I think this is one of the most fundamental roles that the university has played in the quest for freedom for Iranians.”
Paul Jens, SWR, tagesschau, 16.08.2024 11:41 a.m.
