“It's kind of a feminist revolution. I would say it's the first feminist revolution of the Middle East”, says Ramin Jahanbegloo in this week’s #Forum2000online Chat. Mr. Jahanbegloo, an Iranian political philosopher, professor at the Jindal Global University, and ICDR Member, joined Azerbaijani journalist and member of the Forum 2000 Program Council Arzu Geybulla, to talk about the situation in Iran. Is this the beginning of the end for the ayatollahs?
According to Ramin Jahanbegloo, you will learn that:
- During the past 44 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there have been a lot of protests, repression and violence. What we are witnessing right now in Iran is nothing new. It has actually been growing and practically every five years, since 1979, there have been protests.
- Iranians have been going through different demonstrations like in 1999 with the students, in 2009 the “Green Movement”, and in 2017-2018 with the urban protests. This one is very particular because it is actually being led by women. It is kind of a feminist revolution, the first feminist revolution in the Middle East.
- Violence is nothing new, but it is important to highlight the participation of very young people and minors. For this reason, among the victims assassinated by the Iranian regime in the past months there are many minors, people under the age of 18; what is new about these protests is that the regime has been killing a lot of children. The Iranian regime is very fearful of young people because they are not fearful at all.
- This current movement has put the Iranian theocracy into a legitimacy crisis. The internet generation’s sense of being is completely different from the old conservative Iranian regime represented by the ayatollahs.
- The protests have been ethnically and economically driven by different populations, such as Kurds, Baluchis, people from southern Iran, people from all walks of life in the country, and the mostly professional Iranian diaspora.
- For the first time, the world has reacted well and in solidarity like never before. Sanctions, boycotts and punishments, if well conducted, can yield positive[1] results.
- The Iranian regime is in a very bad position for the first time in its political life. It does not know how to handle young people and women and is completely isolated internationally. It is the beginning of the end.
This interview was recorded on December 20, 2022.
