海角大神

From the moment that they seized Romina from her family home in a pre-dawn raid, the Iranian security forces designed every aspect of her two-week detention to terrify her.

Romina鈥檚 captors were determined to convince the young woman that she should give up on women-led street protests demanding improved rights.

Weeks of angry clashes and deaths 鈥� in what has been billed as Iran鈥檚 first feminist uprising 鈥� have presented an unprecedented challenge to the Islamic Republic. It is struggling to find an effective response.

At 3 a.m. one morning in late September, some 30 regime enforcers descended on the home in the northwestern city of Kermanshah to arrest Romina, as if she were wanted for murder 鈥� and not simply for peacefully attending protests.

Romina, who asked to be identified only by that name, was taken from her family, blindfolded, and driven into the night.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 stop insulting me, repeatedly calling me a whore. I was just crying,鈥� recalls Romina, who has a master鈥檚 degree in philosophy and owns an online business. 鈥淭he touching and groping was a nightmare.鈥�

So were the taunts to teach her a lesson about wanting to 鈥渙verthrow the government.鈥�

Upon arrival at what she later learned was an interrogation facility belonging to the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Romina was pushed 鈥� still blindfolded 鈥� down a staircase, but managed to catch herself on a rail to break her fall.

During six blindfolded interrogations over the next three days, Romina, who today wears short black hair and a jovial smile, says her interrogator slapped her repeatedly in the face, pushed her off her chair, and made clear that 鈥渆xecution was definitely the verdict.鈥�

鈥淗e once even tangled my hair in his hand and twisted it. It was terrifying,鈥� recalls Romina. 鈥淚 have always been a fearless girl, but that place was the end of the world to me. Especially when he said, 鈥楽o, a women鈥檚 revolution, huh? You鈥檒l be hanged from this lock of hair. Then you will see the outcome of your revolution, you [female dog], you mercenary.鈥欌��

Like legions of Iranians 鈥� often young Gen Zers 鈥� Romina had been prompted to take to the streets by the mid-September聽death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old picked up by Iran鈥檚 so-called morality police for letting too much hair show from under her headscarf.

In a burgeoning wave of protests, Iranian women have defiantly removed the mandatory headscarves and torched them 鈥� while adding to the flames portraits of Iran鈥檚 aging supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pro-regime militia and riot police 鈥� despite the use of live ammunition and brutal beatings 鈥� have failed to contain the unrest. The demonstrators鈥� focus quickly widened beyond the intrusive enforcement of strict 鈥渕orality鈥� rules to include long-standing grievances, from economic misery to corruption. More than 15,000 Iranians have been arrested in more than 130 cities.

Yet as the protests spread with visceral intensity to every corner of the country, hard-line stalwarts doubled down, declaring that covering women鈥檚 hair was not only a pillar of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but also divine law.

The political and cultural chasms that divide Iranian society 鈥� between its Western-leaning secular youth and its aging ideologues, for example, and between its elite 鈥渉aves鈥� and a profusion of disenfranchised 鈥渉ave-nots鈥� 鈥� have rarely been so wide and so obvious.

From fear to resolve

The trajectory of Romina鈥檚 experience helps explain why these protests 鈥� with their determined fist-pumping under the slogan 鈥淲omen, life, freedom鈥� 鈥� have outlasted crackdowns that have left more than 300 protesters dead, and shaken Iran鈥檚 self-declared 鈥淕overnment of God鈥� to the core.

During her detention, Romina was accused of working with Iran鈥檚 archfoe Israel, or with militant Kurdish separatists,聽decadeslong enemies along with the United States and Britain, whom Iranian authorities blame for fomenting the unrest. She was told daily she could be executed.

But then something unexpected happened.

鈥淎s time went by, I felt I was getting stronger,鈥� recalls Romina, as she realized she could not 鈥渃onfess to those stupid lies.鈥�

鈥淭hey knew it. They knew that those charges were just ridiculous,鈥� she says. After five days she was sent to Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, where, among the petty thieves held there, she found four fellow protesters, all younger 鈥� and very unbroken.

鈥淭hey were so brave; I couldn鈥檛 believe it,鈥� recalls Romina. 鈥淎ll four told me they would definitely go back on the [protest] line when they were released, but with new caution and tactics, so they don鈥檛 get so easily arrested.

鈥淎nd yes, so have I.鈥�

Jail did not create fear in Romina, but dispelled it.

Imprisonment 鈥渙nly strengthens my resolve and these people鈥檚,鈥� says Romina, with a renewed air of defiance. 鈥淭he crackdown has completely failed. This revolution is well on its way. And I am happy I am part of it.鈥�

Women鈥檚 turn

Since the 1979 revolution swept away the shah and ushered in an era of strict Islamic rule, Iran has been no stranger to protests 鈥� or to their violent suppression.

In 2009, for instance, the pro-democracy Green Movement 鈥� which at one point drew 3 million Iranians into the streets of Tehran to protest the result of a stolen election 鈥� was crushed after eight months. And in 2019, nationwide demonstrations sparked by rising fuel prices lasted only a few days. Security forces firing live ammunition into crowds reportedly killed 1,500 people.

But never before have protests centered on women鈥檚 issues or been led by women, even spearheaded at times by high school girls without head coverings chanting their hopes for the regime鈥檚 overthrow.

And some protesters say this time they have abandoned nonviolent methods and are determined to fight back. Ridicule and further disobedience greeted Revolutionary Guard Commander Hossein Salami鈥檚 late October declaration: 鈥淭oday is the end of the riots. Do not come onto the streets.鈥�

Surprised to be facing a largely female vanguard, Iran鈥檚 clerical leadership 鈥� whose hard-line president, Ebrahim Raisi, has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on women鈥檚 rights and civil society 鈥� has been at a loss.

Officials say they plan to conduct mass trials in Tehran, handing down the 鈥渉arshest鈥� punishment to 鈥渢each a lesson鈥� to more than 1,000 detained 鈥渞ioters.鈥� Some are accused of moharebeh, or 鈥渨aging war against God,鈥� a charge often leveled against suspected spies that can lead to the death penalty.聽Five death sentences had been issued in three days, by Nov. 16.

Yet such measures risk eliciting more outrage than obedience.

鈥淭he all-powerful Islamic Republic is fighting kids. They are not just killing them, but bashing their heads in. It鈥檚 shameful,鈥� says Sussan Tahmasebi, co-founder of an equal rights campaign for women two decades ago in Iran and today head of Femena, an organization that supports female human rights defenders.

Since last year, she says, Iran has waged an 鈥渁ll-out assault on all forms of civil society,鈥� which it stepped up with the arrest of hundreds of rights defenders, lawyers, activists, and journalists immediately after Ms. Amini鈥檚 death.

鈥淭hree generations of women have had to deal with this level of humiliation,鈥� says Ms. Tahmasebi, speaking from Washington.

鈥淵oung women, the Generation Z that we keep hearing about, really reject control of their bodies. They reject being told what to wear, and they鈥檙e asking for freedom; they are asking for serious political change,鈥� she says.

Iran鈥檚 rulers, she says, will have to decide whether enforcement of dress code rules is 鈥渨here they want to exert their energy, when they have such an incredible level of broad dissatisfaction among everybody 鈥� not just young women.鈥�

鈥淭hey cannot expect to force people 鈥� especially this younger generation 鈥� to do things so beyond what they are willing to do ... forever,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be very difficult to put this genie back in the bottle.鈥�

That much was clear as thousands clogged roads in their march to Ms. Amini鈥檚 grave Oct. 26 to mark the 40th day of mourning after her death. The protesters descended on the remote northeastern Kurdish town of Saqqez despite official warnings to stay away and the mass deployment of riot police.

At Ms. Amini鈥檚 grave, women took off their head coverings and chanted, 鈥淎 death for a headscarf 鈥� how long will we endure?鈥�

And as security forces battled protesters and fires burned across the country, another chant was heard: 鈥淭his will be the year of blood 鈥� we will topple Khamenei!鈥� It has been heard often since, at other 鈥�40-day鈥� mourning gatherings, as each killed protester is remembered.

The roots of inflexibility

Just as strident have been statements from regime ideologues, who have warned about the high price of 鈥渟edition鈥� and declared that enforcement of 鈥渉ijab and chastity鈥� should be ramped up even further.

鈥淎ny negligence on the issue of hijab is tantamount to treason,鈥� declared Mohsen Mahmoudi, the hard-line cleric appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei to head the government鈥檚 powerful Coordination Council for Islamic Propagation. Violations, he said, would happen only 鈥渙ver our dead bodies.鈥�

Likewise, if the morality police weaken or abandon their enforcement of the hijab, 鈥渢he Islamic Republic will quickly collapse; indeed it will decay and rot,鈥� warned Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, a member of Iran鈥檚 Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, another powerful state institution.

Instead of signaling any chance for compromise on enforcement 鈥� or recognizing that their own policies and corruption may have contributed to citizens鈥� hopelessness and rage 鈥� Iranian officials accuse outside forces, ranging from the CIA and Israel to Western-based Persian-language television channels, of inciting Iranians against their leaders.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so hard for them to accept a little bit of responsibility and blame,鈥� says a veteran analyst in Tehran, who asked not to be identified further out of security concerns.

Yet he thinks it is possible the regime could take a step back.

He notes that the protesters鈥� slogan 鈥淲omen, life, freedom鈥� has a positive and inclusive ring, and 鈥渉as the potential to unite millions 鈥� it is already doing that.鈥�

Already, some supporters of the regime 鈥渁re distancing themselves from the way this is going,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to see dead people. They don鈥檛 want to see kids in their high schools being raided by the police and beaten up. ... This is something that 鈥� if the pressure grows 鈥� might lead the regime to show some flexibility.鈥�

For now, though, any hints at willingness to engage with protesters have been overshadowed by threats of force. That uncompromising mindset predates the 1979 revolution: Many Iranians date the beginning of the end of the shah鈥檚 authoritarian rule to his admission that he had made mistakes.

The Tehran analyst also cautions that the Islamic Republic鈥檚 most fervent supporters care less than they once did about popular support for the regime.

Indeed, one foundational narrative of the Islamic Republic lionizes the truehearted underdog, in the form of Imam Hossein, who chose to die in the seventh century with his handful of followers rather than surrender to tens of thousands of enemy troops.

The analyst recounts a story from Iran鈥檚 post-election protests in 2009, when he spoke to a leader of the Basij, a militia under the command of the Revolutionary Guard, whose unit had broken up a group of students.

鈥淚 asked him, 鈥榃hat if the people don鈥檛 want you?鈥欌�� recalls the analyst. 鈥淗is answer was, 鈥榊es, it could be possible. But actually, the right side of history has always been the minority 鈥� look at Imam Hossein.鈥欌��

鈥淭his thinking, I know, goes on in the minds of many鈥� hard-liners, the analyst says. 鈥淲hen a majority are rioting, it doesn鈥檛 mean that they are right.鈥�

The culture war

Disdain for 鈥渢he other鈥� permeates both sides of Iran鈥檚 social divide, as the Islamic Republic鈥檚 strictest rule-makers ossify in their 80s and 90s, and Gen Z 鈥淶oomers鈥� increasingly reject their diktat.

鈥淓ven if there is a change of regime, this culture war is not going to go away,鈥� says Kian Tajbakhsh, a political scientist now at Columbia University, whose work in Iran led to two long periods of incarceration.

鈥淥n the motivational side, these kids are really fired up and angry 鈥� it鈥檚 a complete anachronism, this [hijab] situation, and they鈥檝e had it,鈥� Dr. Tajbakhsh says. And though the authorities might ease the pressure by limiting the enforcement of hijab rules, or reducing punishments, Dr. Tajbakhsh sees a clash of colliding worldviews preventing that.

鈥淭he Islamists don鈥檛 feel they coexist with other citizens who are equally citizens like they are, but simply have very different points of view,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey see them as kafir, as infidels, [and] foreign in that they don鈥檛 belong to this revolutionary belief.鈥�

The protesters are despised as 鈥渦nfortunate leftovers鈥� of the idolatrous, deposed monarchy, he says, or 鈥減roducts of a global culture that is so powerful that even a righteous Islamist revolution can鈥檛 prevent it ... influencing this young generation with the wrong ideas.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檝e always thought, 鈥榃e will never ... get rid of these kinds of disturbances, or alien elements, so we鈥檒l just have to manage them,鈥欌�� adds Dr. Tajbakhsh. 鈥淭hey are not citizens to be assuaged, to be entered into dialogue with.鈥�

What that denigrating mindset means on the streets of Iran was evident at a recent battle at the vast Ekbatan housing complex in Tehran, where live rounds and tear gas were fired into apartments during raids to stop people chanting from balconies against the regime.

鈥淲e swear to God that we will decapitate even our own families if we need to,鈥� one battalion commander reportedly declared over a loudspeaker.

A broad front

Some regime tactics have succeeded in dampening protesters鈥� enthusiasm. One 17-year-old student from Sanandaj, in the western Kurdish region of Iran, describes being severely beaten and repeatedly threatened with rape for days at a Basij center in September, before he was transferred to a prison. After 10 days he was briefly brought before a judge, who set bail at $10,000.

The student鈥檚 father had to ask a friend to put up the title to his house as collateral, which means the young man has to be extremely careful to avoid any further brush with authorities. 鈥淔riends are looking at me like a hero,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut if I get arrested during those rallies again, I鈥檒l be doomed.鈥�

The protesters, however, seem largely unbowed.

A math teacher from Sanandaj explains why, noting that her girls鈥� school 鈥渒eeps receiving threatening messages鈥� from the education department that teachers will be held accountable if students chant.

鈥淎re the students frightened by such pressure?鈥� asks the teacher, who gives the name Yosra. 鈥淔rom what I can see, no. They are a different species; they won鈥檛 accept humiliation.鈥�

Also unbowed is a team of three men in west Tehran who have joined the Mahsa Amini 鈥渞evolution鈥� in their own way. The middle-aged men, all engineers, fear the consequences for their families of participating in street protests, so have instead bought spray paint.

Wearing masks, the three go out on nighttime missions. One man drives, another films, and the third sprays anti-regime slogans and the names of those killed on the walls of militia, government, and religious centers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a war, and no one can stop it,鈥� says one, who asked not to be named.

鈥淲e are all like drops, but we will become rivers and then oceans once we are united, and that is exactly when the regime 鈥� no matter how dreadful and brutal it might appear 鈥� will crumble and drown.

鈥淏elieve me,鈥� he adds, 鈥渨e are already smashing ... the myth of their invincibility.鈥�

An Iranian researcher contributed to this report.