Brett Cooper

But again, this is not what the people of Iran wanted when they started the revolution.

They wanted a democracy.

And very quickly in 1979, they realized that that is not what they had gotten.

One article reads, on March 8th, 1979, tens of thousands of Iranian women took to the streets demanding the right to choose what to wear on the first International Women's Day of the post-revolutionary Iran.

Post-revolutionary, the rally that was supposed to be a celebration of women became the start of a six-day battle against the newly imposed Islamic dress code on them.

It was perhaps the earliest sign that the revolution they had fought for had been hijacked.

Only weeks before, many of these same women, students, doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, and activists had marched against the dictatorial rule of the Shah, fighting for freedom, democracy, and equality, unaware that they would become the first victims of Iran's Islamization by the Ayatollah.

And these peaceful protests, these demonstrations, the one that started on International Women's Day, they were once again met with government brutality.

Like they had experienced under the Shah, they were experiencing once again.

So then fast forward 20 years, then in 1999, students then led the charge with another set of protests, and an article from that year reads, Iran on the brink as students protest.

Three days of clashes between reformers and Hezbollah hardliners erupt after a newspaper ban.

But still, nothing changed.

The next big protests would once again come from young women in 2022, so another 20 years after that.

And these protests were spurred after a young woman, 22-year-old Masha Amini, was arrested for quote-unquote improper hijab.

But only a few days later, under their arrest, she died.

And the Iranian authorities said that she died coincidentally of a heart attack.

But her family believes this to be untrue.

Most of Iran believes this to be untrue.

Her father said, quote, what makes me sad is that the authorities are spreading lies about my daughter every day.

They said Masa had a heart disease and epilepsy, but as the father who raised her for 22 years, I say loudly that Masa did not have any illness.