When the Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour sang about the desire of young Iranians “for a normal life” and “for freedom”, he had no idea that his words would become a manifesto for anti-regime demonstrators.
But the 25-year-old musician’s use of social media to draw attention to Iranian protests over the death of a young woman in custody by vice squads quickly went viral.
The video on his Instagram page was viewed more than 40 million times in two days and earned him a week in an Iranian prison before being released on bail. It was widely seen as reflecting the concerns of a younger generation that desired a modern lifestyle and did not identify with the ruling theocracy.
“In the absence of established political parties, this young man proclaimed what young protesters want,” said sociologist Hamidreza Jalaei Pour. Over the past three decades, Iranian society has been changing, albeit slowly, he said, but now a “social revolution is emerging.”
Protesters hacked into a live state television broadcast to show Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei surrounded by flames with crosshairs on his face © Twitter /@EdalateAli1400/AFP
Protests over Mahsa Amini’s death have escalated to calls for a secular, democratic government. The unrest has been fueled by social media and, in some cases, celebrities with large online followings.
The protests continued over the weekend, with one of the biggest riots on Saturday, when protesters entered Tehran’s Grand Bazaar for the first time, urging shopkeepers to close their shops.
Meanwhile, anti-regime activists hacked into a live broadcast on state television to show an image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei surrounded by flames, linking him to Amini’s death.
Iranian leaders blame foreign governments for fomenting the protests. Celebrities have encouraged street protests, Iran’s justice chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said, saying that “those who have become famous for supporting this system are now echoing the voice of the enemy.”
As videos of young people engaged in clashes with riot police go viral, Iranian leaders have limited access to Instagram and WhatsApp.
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Hediyeh Tehrany, a prominent actress, said on her Instagram account that she received “the warning” from security officials advising that she should be careful about what she posts to her 967,000 followers.
People who are fed up don’t need her “to go see her [to protest]’ she said, telling security forces that ‘you are the host of this bloody festival’ while ‘my only way to communicate with the people is through the streets’ where protests are taking place.
Mehdi Mahdavikia, a former soccer star who resigned as head coach of Iran’s under-23 national soccer team this month, has accused authorities of sending her own children abroad to enjoy “absolute welfare” and expecting people to do so they “eat stale bread” while abusing women like Amini.
Last week he criticized the security forces for attacking Tehran’s prestigious Sharif University and arresting its students. For decades, they “made the intellectual elite and national human capital flee the country by oppressing and beating students,” he said. “The important positions are filled by illiterate people, which is why the country is in such chaos.”
The mysterious disappearance and death of Nika Shakarami, a 17-year-old protester who authorities say fell from a building, in recent weeks has also sparked anger. Mahtab Keramati, an actress and Unicef Iran Goodwill Ambassador, shared images of nine teenagers killed, injured or arrested during the protests, including Shakarami. She removed her post on Friday, raising suspicions that she did so after pressure from security forces.
Ali Karimi, a former football star with 13.3 million Instagram followers who recently left Iran, is actively encouraging people to claim their rights. “My dear Nika! All Iranians are ashamed of the way they were killed. Rest in peace my daughter,” he said in one of his posts on Thursday.
Mehran Modiri, a popular social satirist and talk show host, stopped airing his Get Together talk shows after Amini’s death.
The actions of the celebrities were widely criticized in the state media. The Javanese newspaper, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said celebrities from soccer players to movie stars are neither willing “to pay the price for their silence” for fear of losing popularity, “nor willing to accompany protesters”. Fear of losing their job.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the words of “some sports and art figures” who sided with the protesters were “not worth attention” and “are of no importance”.
For many, the protests underscore the gulf between ordinary Iranians and the regime. Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, a former hard-line speaker of parliament, warned in a meeting with fellow Tehran University professors that society was “moving rapidly toward polarization” between pro- and anti-regime forces.
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Ali Tayebnia, a former economy minister, said that young people “do not see a bright future and have nothing to lose”. They want “to drive good cars, dress well, have good jobs and get welfare,” Fatemeh Rakei, a reformist politician, told Etemad daily. She added: “These demands will not materialize [US] sanctions, mismanagement and fraud.”
It is clear that young people dominate the protests. Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said this week that the average age of those arrested was 15. He described them as “victims” and “addicts” to social media, making them “delicious morsels for the enemy.”
In one video, high school girls without hijab sing along to Hajipour’s lyrics, which are on the white board in front of them. They want freedom, they sing: “To dance in the alley.” For fear of kissing. . . To change rotten minds. Because I’m embarrassed. Because you are moneyless. For the longing for a normal life.”
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