Iran’s 2017 uprising against inflation began in December 2017 in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, and quickly spread to over 100 cities across the country, lasting for three weeks. Courageous Iranian women once again participated extensively, demonstrating remarkable bravery.
On December 28, 2017, more than 10,000 people, both men and women, poured into the streets of Mashhad to protest inflation. They chanted slogans calling the leaders and officials of the clerical regime “thieves” and blamed them for the poverty and misery of the majority of Iranians. In interviews conducted with protesters on the scene, many spoke of the “unparalleled courage” of women during Iran’s 2017 uprising.
The slogans on the first day, “Death to Rouhani” and “Death to the Dictator,” quickly evolved the next day to “Death to Khamenei” and various other chants against the regime’s Supreme Leader. Protesters chanted, “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic,” “Khamenei, know this, you will be overthrown soon,” and “mullahs get lost!”
One of the boldest moments of the second day of Iran’s 2017 uprising was created by a woman in the city of Hamedan, western Iran. Surrounded by security forces, she shouted, “Death to Khamenei,” repeatedly and with all her might. This was the first time someone had chanted this slogan. Her bravery broke the taboo and paved the way for other protesters, escalating the chants against Khamenei.
In other scenes, young women defied orders from police officers and engaged in clashes with riot units in Isfahan, central Iran.
In Tehran, young women and girls at Tehran University actively confronted campus guards and attempted to open the university gates to join the street protests. They encouraged others to unite and be fearless, leading the student protesters with slogans like “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to Khamenei.” Female students also chanted, “Reformists, Principlists, the game is over,” targeting the entire regime and nullifying both of its factions during Iran’s 2017 uprising.
A young woman who covered her face amidst tear gas outside Tehran University, raising her fist in defiance, became a symbol of this uprising.
In many cities, women spoke to passersby, urging them to join the protests. In Qods Town, one woman said, “Be men and come forward. I, a woman, will shield you with my chest. Come forward on behalf of the entire Iranian nation.”
A Revolutionary Guards commander acknowledged the pivotal role of brave Iranian women in the December nationwide protests, stating, “The main ring of incitement and initiation were women.”
Rasoul Sanaei Rad, the political deputy of the Revolutionary Guards, said about Iran’s 2017 uprising, “Eighty percent of those arrested are under 30 years old, and among them are some middle-aged women. In the 1980s, those who led the street protests of the [Mujahideen] organization were mostly women, and now the main ring of incitement and initiation are women. For example, four of these women turned Ilam, western Iran, into turmoil.” (State-run Jahan News website – January 27, 2018)
During the wave of arrests in the Iran’s 2017 uprising, more than 500 brave Iranian women and female students were arrested and imprisoned.