MESOP MIDEAST WATCH MEMRI Daily Brief No. 423 – The Revolt In Iran Is An Ethnic Minorities-Led Uprising

By Himdad Mustafa  Introduction 26-10-22

The ongoing protests against the Iranian regime can be defined not only as a women-led uprising, but also an ethnic minorities-led one. In fact, for the ethnic minorities that comprise almost half of Iran’s population (e.g., Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, and Balochis), this is a “revolution” for liberty and basic ethnic and human rights of which they have been deprived not only by the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also by the former Persian regimes (e.g., under the Pahlavi dynasty) for almost a century. For this reason, this is as sensitive topic for the Iranian regime as it is for the Persian diaspora itself.

It is worth noting that the protests were sparked all over Iran following the murder of Jina Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who was beaten to death by the Iranian “morality” police. As Kurdish women’s rights defenders in Iran often say: “We are both women and Kurds; so, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, we are doubly accused.” In fact, Jina Amini was arrested, tortured, and murdered not only because she was wearing her hijab too “loosely,” but also because she was Kurdish.

Yet, before the news of Jina Amini’s murder by the Islamic Republic reached the international media, the Persian diaspora strategically erased Jina’s ethnic background and the ethnic character of the Kurdish protests (which started in Eastern Kurdistan in response to the heinous killing), in order to divert the attention of the international community from the dire situation of ethnic minorities in Iran. In fact, both the Persian media in the diaspora and the international media keep on calling her by her Persian name Mahsa, a name she was forced to adopt, as the Islamic Republic does not accept the registration of Kurdish names in official documents.

Often, for example in London and in Aarhurs in Denmark, Persians have not allowed Kurds and Balochis to raise their national flags or display their ethnic symbols at recent anti-regime rallies. Videos shared on social media showed Persians attacking a Kurdish man in Stockholm for wearing Kurdish clothes.[3] In Berlin, Persians harassed Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, and Balochis for criticizing Mohammed Reza Shah for committing crimes against minorities. A Baloch man was verbally attacked by Persian protestors for holding a placard that read “Iran has committed genocide against Kurdistan and Balochistan.”

Members Of Iran’s Ethnic Minorities All Have A “Jina” In Their Lives

Speaking out against the erasure of Kurds and Kurdistan by the Persian diaspora and the Western media, Kurdish activist Tara Fatehi stated: “You can’t chant ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ [a Kurdish feminist slogan meaning “Woman, Life, Freedom” used as the rallying cry of the Iranian protests] in the same breath that you erase, re-colonize, and reinforce the oppression of the Kurdish people.”

The story of Jina Amini and the erasure of her Kurdish background by Persians is germane to the experience of all Iran’s ethnic minorities that have disproportionately suffered from state repression, violent “Persianization” and assimilation policies by Persian regimes. Members of ethnic minorities in Iran all have a “Jina” in their lives. Jina represents the daughter of Iran’s oppressed minorities that for decades have undergone systematic discrimination.

Inside and outside Iran, Persians have failed to amplify or even listen to the voices of minorities that form the backbone of the current revolution. The international media’s coverage of the Iranian protests and perspectives as being the sole representatives of Iran, has further marginalized the ethnic and religious minorities and bolstered the Persian-centrism of the Iranian regime. “When was the last time an Iranian Lur or Ahwazi was given a global platform to voice their opinions on Iran’s regime or Western foreign policy towards Iran? How can non-recognized religious minorities such as Bahai’s or Sikh speak globally from within a state that affords them no protections?” scholars Asha Sawahney and Sabrina Azad wrote.

Read The Full Report Die Revolte im Iran ist ein von ethnischen Minderheiten angeführter Aufstand | MEMRI