According
to the critics, the regime has opted for a massive show of force and drastic
measures to intimidate and crush all possible anti-government demonstrations. A
month ago, it sent the Morality Police back to the streets of Iranian cities,
which were quietly withdrawn last October, and is putting in place additional
security forces to ensure women observe the Islamic head covering, or hijab.
The regime’s message is that not only will women who don’t
cover properly be targeted, but all demonstrations and protests on the streets,
universities, and other public places will be crushed. Supporters of Mahsa say
the regime fears it will be unable to contain or control a revival of the
protest movement ignited last September. Nor, apparently, does the regime feel
it can afford once again to arrest thousands and kill several hundred of its
young citizens. Thus, early preparation of preventive measures is essential.
Lately, the BBC reported widespread arrests of women
activists by judiciary and security forces in Gilan, Mahabad, Oshnouyeh, Tehran
and Tabriz. The Gilan activists, with the usual hyperbole, were accused of
“Preparing the ground for fomenting riots and insurrection in the Gilan
province and some cities in the Kurdistan province.”
Families who sought information about where their women were
being held were given none. Over 200 gender and political researchers, artists
and journalists in Iran and the diaspora have protested the arrest of the
activists in Gilan and other provinces, as well as the false accusations
brought against them.
The regime is also threatening the families of the
protestors killed during the demonstrations last year. These families are, by
implication, being warned not to hold observance ceremonies, visit the graves
of their loved ones, or pay their respects to those who lost their lives during
the uprisings.
Reports are circulating that shopkeepers and businesses have
been warned not to close their premises to mark the anniversary.
The deputy head of the judiciary also warned protestors who
were pardoned by the Supreme Leader and freed from prison not to participate in
any new demonstrations; if arrested for a second time, they would have to face
harsh punishment, he said.
According to the opponents, the regime has been purging
academics from universities across the country that supported the students who
participated in last year’s demonstrations and protested the arrests and imprisonment
of their colleagues.
The targeted institutions include Tehran University, Iran’s
‘mother’ institution of higher education, and Sharif University, a technical
institution widely considered Iran’s MIT, where the country’s leading engineers
and scientists are trained. A substantial number of students have also been
barred from attending classes and completing their studies.
These
measures represent a throwback to the so-called ‘cultural revolution’ of the
early days of the Islamic Republic when large numbers of professors were
dismissed from universities.
Iran’s syndicate of university professors has publicly
condemned the “destructive interference” of security and intelligence forces in
university affairs.
The regime is replacing dismissed professors with less
qualified academics. One professor compared this purge to the thirteen-century
Mongol invasion of Iran, spreading waste and destruction everywhere.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Higher Education is revising the
humanities curriculum of subjects like Western philosophy and dropping several
topics, including English language and literature, cinematography, and
sculpture. It also expands the teaching of Islamic philosophy, Islamic law and
Islamic ethics.
According to some reports, a number of universities across
the country will admit fewer women and are considering total segregation of
women and men in university classes.
Even athletes and athletics have not been spared in this new
crackdown. Last week, the people of Tehran woke up to astonishing news. On the
eve of a popular national soccer tournament, whose matches are attended by tens
of thousands of Iranians, bulldozers were busy demolishing the spectator stands
in Tehran’s largest stadium.
Only last July, under pressure from international soccer
organizations, the government decided women could attend these games – albeit
sitting in segregated stands. The reason behind the recent demolition seems
clear, the government cannot afford to have tens of thousands of male and
female spectators under one roof.
The
regime also cannot risk the probability that the majority of women will remove
their hijabs or the high likelihood that the spectators will not only cheer the
players but convert their cheering into slogans against the regime.
