‘I feel betrayed by the West’: Iran’s self-governance protesters react to their ancient president iran

wA series of protests broke out across Iran in September 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, allegedly due to wearing a headband incorrectly. Leyla* was a teenager. She bravely participated and waved her shawl over her head in protest in front of security forces in Tehran after she was hit by shrapnel in her leg.

Nearly two years later, Iran has elected an esteemed President, Massoud Pezeshkian. The former central surgeon and health minister, who has been labeled a reformist by the media and political analysts, has reportedly said The brutal nature of hijab repression puts human dignity at risk. However, every Iranian mom or dad I talked to was skeptical that the rest would do business.

For Leyla, the election is no longer a signal for action. Despite being eligible to vote, they boycotted them.

“The West did nothing even when we were beaten, tortured, raped and killed in the streets,” she says. “Nothing will change until we get back on the streets. I have been betrayed not only by the West, but also by my people who will not return to the streets.”

Others share Leyla’s skepticism. Soraya* was one of the leaders of the protest organized by scholars in Valiyasar Square. In Tehran. The key intersection of the country’s longest boulevard was once one of the important first playgrounds of the protests that erupted in September 2022.

Soraya was chased by security forces and says she was hit on the head with a baton before being rescued by other protesters. Now working in finance, she says many in her year group hadn’t even heard of the president-elect until now.

“I or any of my friends had never heard of Pezeshkian until last week. Maybe my mother’s generation knew, but none of us in the protest groups knew he existed. I don’t know or care what part of the ideology he actually belongs to, but any ‘reformist’ or ‘radical’ will do nothing useful for the country. “The decisive power of the country rests only with the Supreme Leader (Ali Khamenei).”

Soraya says they need to remind the region that those who marched in the streets in protest “still expect the fall of the regime, no matter who is elected president”.

Ariana*, a student from Karaj, the capital of Alborz province, says media coverage of Pezeshkian’s victory has not only disappointed her, but also made her realize that “freedom-seeking” Iranians are on their own. Branding Pezeshkian as “nonsense”, she says: “The media coverage on the doctor’s views, that he would go against the hijab law, or is opposed to mandatory hijab rules, is nonsense.

“If anything, we Iranians are smarter, more aware than before and we have done our research. We are not falling prey to the fake propaganda that she is against hijab. It’s only you who gets fooled, not us. This should not even be a question.”

In contrast, Ariana says that Pezeshkian’s election victory is as if this brutal regime is offering us a silk hijab, in the expectation that if it looks beautiful we should be happy wearing it. Were not. Oppression is not pretty and the horror I have gone through and seen my friends go through at the hands of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) will never be forgotten. Some of us may have been blinded by shrapnel, but our memories live on.”

Many of the young protesters interviewed said boycotting the elections was non-negotiable. Kaveh*, a 19-year-old Kurdish man, witnessed a member of the public being shot dead during all the protests in 2022. He says, “To even dream of voting for this regime is an insult to the memory of our family’s beloved child.” ,

According to Iran’s Interior Ministry, the original turnout in the first round of the presidential election was 40% – the lowest since the 1979 revolution – with 50% turnout in the second round.

In this era, Iran’s judiciary announced that it had arrested more than 100 countries for committing “election violations” and the “criminal” act of voter disincentivization. A judiciary spokesperson said hundreds of Instagram accounts calling for a boycott of the elections were flagged.

However not all protesters joined the boycott. A few months ago, even the idea of ​​running in the presidential elections was an “impossible idea” for Mahmoud*, a scholar living in the city of Mashhad in north-eastern Iran. He recalls being locked out during his college days when the Basij (paramilitary volunteer militia) roamed the campus and held protesting scholars hostage for hours.

“I didn’t tell my friends that I voted because I didn’t want to upset them,” says Mahmood. “I gave the opposition a chance to stand up for us. Realizing that we do not yet have a strong opposition inside the country, I voted for Pezeshkian because I am tired of waiting. I know this is not what we wanted and I have not forgotten the sacrifices. But in the hope that my countrymen would get a chance to breathe, I went against the call for a boycott.

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