Many of history's most significant revolutions and movements have been initiated by ordinary people. Rosa Parks was on her way home from work when she refused to surrender to discrimination, sparking the American Civil Rights Movement. Mohamed Bouazizi was a simple street vendor who set himself on fire in protest against the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official and their aides, triggering the Tunisian Revolution and the end of dictatorship for his country. For the people of Iran , a popular uprising against the oppression of ruthless rulers is even part of our foundational mythology. In the Shahnameh an ordinary blacksmith named Kaveh raised his leather apron on a spear as a flag and sought justice for the death of his sons.

Now, today, we are seeing ordinary people again take it upon themselves to confront injustice and spark change. Two years ago, the people of Iran began a revolution that brought the names "Mahsa Amini" and "Woman, Life, Freedom" to the world’s attention. Mahsa Amini was a 21-year-old Iranian woman from Saqqez, a Kurdish city in western Iran, who had traveled to Tehran, the nation's capital, to visit her relatives. She was arrested because of a few strands of hair that showed from under her headscarf. She was beaten, and three days later, died in the hospital from injuries she sustained to her head. Such incidents were not unprecedented in Iran, but this time people took to the streets, protesting by removing their scarves and cutting their hair. Despite internet blackouts and a ban on foreign journalists, the voices of the Iranian people still reached the world.

Although journalists, artists, intellectuals, athletes, and opposition politicians supported the people during the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' uprising, it was ordinary people who led this revolution on the streets and became its symbols. Nika Shakarami was a 16-year-old high schooler who worked in a café. She stood on a trash bin, waving her burning scarf in the air. Minutes later, she was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered. Hadis Najafi worked in a restaurant in Karaj (a city near Tehran); she tied her hair into a ponytail before joining the protests in a symbolic gesture, and minutes later was killed by six bullets. Khodanur Lojei was a plasterer who protested against oppression and inequality in Zahedan (a city in southeastern Iran). He was arrested, tied to a flagpole, and tortured by placing a glass of water just out of reach to torment him with thirst. However, after being released, Khodanur returned to the demonstration, and this time, he was shot dead. Sarina Esmailzadeh was a 15-year-old girl who studied at a magnet high school. She had lost her father, and her mother was battling cancer. Sarina, who had voiced her concerns for freedom and equality on social media, joined the people in the streets and was beaten to death with batons. Mehrshad Shahidi, a 20-year-old student and chef, took to the streets in Arak (a central Iranian city) and was killed by multiple baton blows to his head.

These names are just some of hundreds I could mention. Thousands have been injured, many of whom have lost eyes, hands, and other body parts. Thousands more are currently imprisoned, have lost their jobs, been expelled from universities, or have been forced to flee Iran. These ordinary people, many of whom had no prior involvement with politics before the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising, were forced to make a choice. A choice between silence in the face of oppression or to stand up and say NO! They chose the latter. In dictatorships, big choices come with big costs. What’s even more striking is that those who survived—whether dealing with eye injuries, facing prison sentences, or successfully fleeing Iran—unanimously agree: if time were turned back, they would again take to the streets with the people.

Comparing Two Major Uprisings: 2009 and 2022 – Opportunities and Shortcomings
Although numerous uprisings occurred between 2009 and 2022 in Iran, the Green Movement in 2009 and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in 2022 stand out as Iran’s most significant battles against the Islamic Republic in the past two decades. This has been due to their nationwide scale, widespread participation across different social classes, long-lasting presence of people in the streets, and global resonance.

While these two movements share similarities, their differences, when examined, provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of contemporary Iran:

In the Green Movement, political parties and two prominent political figures—Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi—played key roles. Students, intellectuals, journalists, artists, and political and social activists were also central to the formation and direction of the protests. With the mass shutting down of newspapers, the arrest of political activists and intellectuals, attacks on students and universities, and ultimately, the house arrest of the movement’s leaders (which continues to this day), the regime successfully ended the street protests after two years.

But in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, there was no specific leadership or political direction. Mahsa Amini and the issue of compulsory hijab were the sparks that united the people and brought them back to the streets. Each memorial service, particularly the seventh and fortieth-day rites for those killed in the streets, turned into the next protest. During this period, the regime resorted to widespread violence and massacres, with numerous reports of deliberate, close-range shooting at protesters' eyes. They then attempted to suppress the protests by imposing harsh sentences, such as executing individuals for setting fire to trash bins, and by fostering an atmosphere of fear and terror.

In the Green Movement, the presence of leadership and widespread intellectual support in guiding the people made it difficult for the regime to engage in unchecked torture and killing. For instance, after the sexual assault and torture that led to death in the Kahrizak detention center, many political figures condemned the tragedy, and an account of the outrage appeared in Iranian newspapers, forcing Ayatollah Khamenei to order the closure of the detention center. However, in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, many individuals who were killed or blinded remain unknown, despite the fact that the regime has not been able to silence all of the families through intimidation tactics. The absence of specific well-known protesters and leadership meant that the regime couldn’t quickly suppress or redirect the protests by arresting or even killing some leaders. The government was unable to predict the next developments, as the protests were spontaneous and emerged from neighborhoods without any specific organization or plan.

In the Green Movement, the arrest of political activists and journalists did not lead to the expansion of the uprising or the addition of new participants to the protests, as these activists and their families were usually already part of the movement even before their arrest. However, in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, many of those who were arrested or killed were ordinary people from families with diverse views. After each arrest or killing, families who had not been politically active before would join the movement and demand justice. This phenomenon was particularly noticeable in small towns and at the funerals of the deceased, which often turned into new demonstrations.

The presence of teenagers and the younger generation in the streets was one of the most notable features of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. They weren’t political activists or experienced in protesting the regime but compensated for their lack of maturity with tremendous courage. These teenagers, who didn’t retreat even in the face of gunfire, showed less fear and caution than the previous generation. They also had a more intense stance against political Islam and dictatorship compared to the generation that led the Green Movement, who were still grappling with doctrinal beliefs. The death of many children and teenagers during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement resulted from their strong presence in the streets. However, it’s also undeniable that the regime, without hesitation, even shot at children inside cars in an attempt to instill fear and drive people back indoors.

In the Green Movement, journalists and reporters who stood with the people played a crucial role, and the beginning of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement was also the result of the bravery of two journalists, Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, who broke the news of Mahsa Amini’s murder despite immense pressure. However, as the protests continued, it was the people who became citizen journalists with their mobile phones, capturing and broadcasting images to the world, gaining global solidarity with the people of Iran. They effectively used new technological capabilities that didn’t exist in 2009 during the Green Movement, such as smartphones, social media, high-speed internet, and VPNs. Every protester became a reporter, documenting both the bravery of the people and the regime’s brutal killings. Although the regime attempted to cut off the internet, block all social networks, and target protesters filming with snipers, the number of photos and videos that reached the world were thousands of times more than in 2009, when smartphones were not yet widespread among ordinary people in Iran.

In 2009, the Islamic Republic was caught off guard by the people. After the student massacre during the 1999 protests, they didn’t expect that ten years later, millions would take to the streets again—like the 3 million people who joined the silent march in Tehran on June 15, 2009. As a result, it took the government months to regain control of the situation and reclaim the streets from the people. Over the years, they had faced dozens of small and large protests in various cities. For instance, during the November 2019 protests, they had completely cut off the country’s internet for three days and killed over 1,500 people with impunity. However, by 2022, after Mahsa Amini’s death, the government appeared fully prepared to suppress the people. What caught the regime off guard this time was the unprecedented widespread participation of women and teenagers.

Moreover, global support and the engagement of celebrities and people from around the world was unprecedented. The hashtags #MahsaAmini in both Farsi and English were used over 275 million times on Twitter and 940 million times on TikTok. Furthermore, the widespread and synchronized nature of the protests, coupled with solidarity among cities, hindered the regime's ability to concentrate its forces on suppressing larger urban centers. Even small, religiously conservative towns saw both small and large-scale demonstrations.

Future Outlook: Dark or Bright?
The situation seems to be that the Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently managed to suppress uprisings by its people, while most countries and global powers have largely remained silent about the extensive human rights violations occurring in Iran. This perspective may suggest a bleak future for Iranians, but the actual reality of the situation is more complex:

The 1999 student movement, which arose in response to the ban on a reformist newspaper, was met with severe repression and later evolved into the Green Movement and widespread protests against electoral fraud in 2009. This, too, faced harsh suppression, which set the stage for the 2017 and 2019 protests. These later demonstrations were no longer merely about civil dissent but were driven by the marginalized segments of society protesting economic inequality, with increasingly radical demands. The regime’s brutal response to these protests culminated in the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom movement, which saw widespread participation across all sectors and featured the most radical slogans and demands, including the removal of Ayatollah Khamenei and the dismantling of the Islamic Republic. Clearly, the regime’s violence and repression have failed to quell public anger. The next uprising is expected to be even more widespread and radical. As economic pressures mount and generational changes take effect, the regime’s remaining loyalists are likely to diminish more rapidly.

On the other hand, while the world may remain silent in the face of the massacre of the Iranian people and violations of human rights and freedom of expression, the confirmation of arms sales to Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency's acknowledgment that Iran is a step away from a nuclear bomb, will make it harder to remain indifferent to the Iranian regime and its ambitions. Iran's acquisition of a nuclear bomb means that Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other terrorist groups worldwide would also have access to nuclear weapons. Global powers understand that only the overthrow of the Iranian regime and the establishment of a democratic regime can prevent this from happening.

In the meantime, the Iranian people persist in their fight with nothing but their bare hands against a regime armed to the teeth. This regime, in its response to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, has revealed its boundless cruelty—killing children, assaulting women, torturing prisoners, and executing protesters. The people’s only wish is for well-being, freedom, and equality—fundamental human rights that should be the cornerstone of any non-dictatorial society. This longing is poignantly captured in the movement’s anthem, 'Baraye,' performed by Shervin Hajipour. Crafted from the heartfelt tweets of ordinary people, the song transformed their silent cries into a powerful melody. As Shervin sings with profound emotion: 'For the longing for a normal life...' a testament to the indomitable spirit of a people yearning for justice and a future where their dreams can finally take flight.