Tens of thousands of Iranian protesters have marked 40 days since Mahsa Amini’s death by gathering in her home town, Saqqez, with people in Tehran, Mashhad and other cities also taking to the streets.
Security forces reportedly fired shots and used teargas in Saqqez.
Here, four Iranians describe the 40th day and how the protests have evolved in recent weeks.
Saqqez, Kurdistan province
I wasn’t able to go to Aichi cemetery, where Mahsa Amini is buried, yesterday but my siblings were there. Wednesday was the 40th day after Mahsa’s death. In Iranian culture people gather another time for her loss.
The governors had closed the road to Aichi so people had to walk through rural areas to get to the cemetery. Some had come from other cities. Governors had sent forces and basij [paramilitary volunteer militia] from around Kurdistan province.
I was very worried about my siblings, they had to leave their phones at home because they were concerned about GPS tracking.
They said forces were using teargas in the streets and shooting in Zindan square [on the way to Aichi]. My brother told me the cemetery was really crowded. There were so many people; the government had tried its best to prevent it but people still went. All the people they knew in the city were there. In the cemetery my brother noticed there were drones in the sky.
He said it felt like there wasn’t a leader at the cemetery – that was the weakness of the event. They weren’t chanting in unity. If we had more freedom we could be more organised – it’s not people’s fault.
Lately protesters go out on the streets mostly in three areas of the city [Saqqez] in the evening. On some days people do not open bazaar malls and shops remain closed. In schools, the number of students attending is very low. Students are active and they go out on the streets. Parents are scared but this generation [is] really brave and united.
The police are afraid of people and want to suppress them harshly. Some of the basij look very young – just teenagers. Zeynab, 31
Tehran
On Wednesday, there were clashes between people, especially students, and the police, in downtown Tehran. There were so many police guards, with a lot of backup by basij forces.
When I returned home I could hear people shouting from their houses. Some with amplifiers to increase volume and using video projectors to show [protest] videos on walls.
Lately I have seen more and more anger. People are well organised now. More slogans on street walls, insulting the regime and supreme leader directly. There is no neighbourhood where you don’t hear chanting slogans every night.
The city is full of anti-riot police. People talk about the situation and there [are] plenty of women without hijab in streets and malls.
I think the leaders are frightened. They speak to the media more than past weeks trying to justify their actions. They are trying to ignore their violence and put the responsibility on the people who are protesting. This is the basic strategy of the mullah’s regime: everyone is our enemy, and every country is our enemy and all of these people in the streets are the enemy’s forces.
When you watch state TV or state media you [would think] all the world is burning and we live in heaven. But the broken technology, economy, corrupt government and the strong hand of mullahs makes the country like a hell. Ali, 44, works in advertising
Fars province
I’m visiting my family who live in a very small town in the south of Fars province. There haven’t been big protests here. At the beginning there were some protests by high school students – they were small but considering that it’s a small town it was something. A few protesters have been arrested or warned. Some teenage girls were also tagging the walls, writing “woman, life, freedom” recently. I know they were warned.
Me and my friends in Shiraz constantly ask each other about how we feel. It’s stressful and horrifying. It’s a daily routine now. We say: “How are you? Are you safe? Please take care of yourself.”
Even though this is a very religious and deprived small town, mostly people encourage the protests, especially women. The majority want the regime gone. I spoke to two religious women [and even they] were talking about how the regime is brutally killing people. But sexism here is still an issue.
The movement has brought a new perspective – it’s been very impressive. People are talking about freedom a lot. And I see why they’re calling this movement feminist, because now women know how precious they are. Something that they’ve forgotten this whole time – this is something you can feel. Sara, 22, graduate
Mashhad
On Wednesday afternoon, all my classes were cancelled. On my way back, I saw that the number of guards and basij on the streets were much higher than previous days – they were riding motorcycles up and down the sidewalks, creating fear, and to try and stop people gathering in groups.
There are people on the street, just walking or standing and not in big groups. The basij were shouting at us to keep moving. Even though I was alone and not doing anything, and wearing a suit, I still felt afraid when they passed me and shouted at me.
I didn’t see people shouting slogans but almost all the shops are closed – people who were on the streets, weren’t just out for fun.
I hadn’t seen this many basij on the streets since the beginning of the protests. There were many people in the streets but they were not gathered together. I could smell teargas.
There were people honking in their cars, which can be interpreted as a protest. I saw basij shoot at them with paintball guns and some people being arrested and beaten in the street.
Before Wednesday, the protests in Mashhad started strongly, but after a couple of weeks have become more calm compared [with] other cities. I think this may be because Mashhad is more religious than other cities. The protests here are not every day now – they’re usually twice a week. Before, they were in many parts of the city, but now they’ve moved to specific streets.
We’ve had protests in Iran before but the length of time these have lasted surprised me. Other protests have been about economic problems – because people didn’t have enough money to get by – but now it’s about freedom, too.
Compared with other protests, I think the government is more afraid this time. They are lasting longer, and there are protests all over the world. At first the government was saying those protesting were a minority led by foreigners, but recently [there’s more talk of unity and calm]. But people don’t believe that they can trust them; they don’t think any reform is possible.
When people see others beaten in the street fewer believe in reform. I myself was one of those who believed in reforms four to five years ago, but I later came to understand that reform is not possible under this regime.
I can see the change in my parents, too – my father participated in all the elections since the revolution except in the last election where he didn’t vote. I think older people are mostly against the corruption in government; for younger people the motivation is that they want to have more freedom.
I think the younger generation, those who are 16, 17, are much braver. These kids have been raised differently and we can see the results. I admire them.
Social media has had a vital role in this. Many people, when they want to go and protest, they use Telegram to set a time and place on the channels; when others see how people have been beaten in the street they want to join and help. The quality of the internet decreases closer to night. You need a good IT knowledge to get online in Iran.
Many thought these protests would be done in two weeks. They haven’t finished and they don’t seem like they will finish soon. Hossein, 30s, teacher
Names have been changed
