Iran Clamps Down on Mothers and Student Protests

Mothers were arrested in Iran today, December 7. Traditionally this is the date that Iranian government stages rallies to honor the deaths of three student demonstrators killed by the Shah’s security forces in 1953.

Today, the wheel of history turned against the Iranian govern, as the state seeks to crush growing demonstrations against their own legitimacy. We read from three sources:

Iran police ‘clash with protesters” Al Jazeera English (most recent)

Iran’s students prepare for battle as regime imposes Students’ Day crackdown London Times

Mothers Arrested Before Opposition Rally in Iran NYTimes

According the NYTimes (via BBC) at least 29 mothers were arrested and 21 remained in jail. The mothers have taken part in an antigovernment protest in Leleh Park in central Tehran every Saturday since the Jude 2009 death of Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, who became a symbolic martyr of government repression in Iran. via NYTimes

Iran is moving to impose a new “cultural revolution” on Iran’s universities, according to the London Times. The volunteer Basij militia is campaigning against female students wearing what is considered un-Islamic dress and men with long hair. 

Students say that some Western-orientated courses have been replaced with Islamic ones, and there is talk of segregating universities by gender. via London Times

The demonstrators say they will not be thwarted.

“We want to send a message to the people that we’re here, and join us, and to the regime that you have lost as we will not be silenced,” Kaveh said. “We are not like many of our Middle Eastern neighbours, whose people have succumbed to dictatorship. The more [President] Ahmadinejad and Mr Khamenei beat the nation, the more people will stand up and bring about their end.”

Al Jazeera is reporting that the police have “clashed with thousands of anti-government protesters today”, with the arrest of at least two opposition supporters who are women. Anne