Iran | A people alone facing their destiny?

Sherazad Adib

Member of the Iranian diaspora and senior director at the Catalyst organization, Saint-Lambert

The world would finally know the reality of women, their struggles, the values ​​of freedom, equality and democracy to which they aspire.

Unfortunately, recent events surrounding the conflict with Israel seem to mark a step backwards: the Iranian people once again have the feeling of being assimilated to the actions of their leaders.

Is he at risk of finding himself, once again, alone in the face of his destiny?

I recently came across a TikTok video where a young girl explains the difference between the Islamic regime in Iran and its people. This brought back to me a feeling of helplessness in the face of Western incomprehension of the Iranian situation. It took me back to the time when, when I was younger, living in France, frustration overwhelmed me when I saw the images of the big demonstrations in support of the Iranian regime.

Forced to demonstrate

I knew the reality: the Iranian regime excelled in the art of propaganda. In Iran, it was common knowledge that the regime forced civil servants to demonstrate, going so far as to involve schoolchildren without their parents’ consent.

Just this week, after the Iranian regime’s attack on Israel, we could read in international news: “Iranians jubilant after attack.” As the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, so eloquently wrote on her Instagram page: “The war against Israel is not that of the Iranian people. » Meanwhile, the regime increased its repression against unveiled women. We could read the testimony of a woman this week saying she had been arrested in the Tehran metro by the morality police, taken by force and sexually assaulted^⁠1.

Far be it from me to have the naive idea of ​​thinking that the Islamic regime has never had any support. Of course he had it and he still has it. It is very difficult to measure this support without the help of serious surveys.

That said, a poll carried out in December 2022 by the Gamaan Institute, based in Germany, concluded that 81% of Iranians surveyed inside the country were against the Islamic Republic.^⁠2.

Two years after the death of Mahsa Amini and all that followed, a question arises: has the international community decided to accommodate the Islamic regime and prefer the status quo or will it- she have the courage to support a movement for equality and democracy?

We are right to ask this question, because the Islamic Republic was recently appointed to UN bodies such as the conference on disarmament which it chairs for a few sessions between March and May 2024!

The regime also continues to enjoy moral support from several personalities who see in the Islamic Republic a symbol of struggle against American imperialism. In reality, the Iranian regime has recreated a hegemonic model based on religion, corruption, gender apartheid and international terrorism. Is this the answer to the fight against inequities in the world?

The specter of war with Israel looms large, and civilians will suffer the most. Now more than ever, it is crucial to think rigorously and clearly separate the Islamic regime from its citizens. We must continue to support the women’s rights movement and support resistance figures like Narges Mohammadi.

The international community faces a crucial opportunity: to concretely support the Iran of tomorrow. It is time to act and provide the resources needed to help the Iranian people build a future beyond the Islamic Republic.