Woman, Life, Freedom
Alternatively: why I'm blaming Ben Affleck for what's currently going on in Iran
If I’m being honest, I feel really selfish to have something like E4P.
Each week, I ask people to tell me about the things that matter to them most and get to spend time inside their worlds as I craft these stories. Today’s piece, though, is really affirming and highlights the importance of creating a place where people can have significant and impactful conversations.
Despite doing a mediocre project on the Iranian Revolution during my freshman year of college (in a class bluntly named Democracy and Dictatorships), I wanted to go deeper into what’s happening in Iran right now than I was able to on my own. For anyone who hasn’t heard anything through the fingers they shoved in their ears like an asshat, anti-regime protests have been happening all across Iran for the past month after a young woman was murdered by the Islamic Republic’s morality police.
Since September 16, at least 266 people have died and over a thousand have been injured. Yet, the fight of the Iranian people against their government does not seem to be letting up soon despite the risks they are undoubtedly facing.
This week, I’m joined by an Anonymous Guest to talk about the current moment of political unrest in Iran, their relationship with the country, and what we can all do to help those facing severe government oppression.1
Hey, thanks for having me today! I'm choosing to remain anonymous due to the extremities of the Iranian government, and their ability to ban me from the country or do other unthinkable things just for speaking with you today. I grew up in Connecticut and I currently attend university in NYC. I am a second-generation Iranian-American, so my parents were born and raised in Iran and immigrated to the US.
Talking About the History of Modern Iran But Don’t Worry—I Still Get in a Good Ronald Reagan Dig
Before we get into the history of how we got here, I asked my guest to explain exactly where here is:
Emily: Can you give an overview of what's happening right now in Iran and why?
Anon: Iran is currently undergoing what many may classify as the early stages of a revolution. On September 16, a Kurdish woman by the name of Mahsa Amini passed away in a hospital in Tehran, the capital of Iran. She was arrested the previous Tuesday for hijab violations by the “morality police” and was taken to the station to attend a one-hour re-education class on hijab rules.
As her brother Kiarash was waiting outside of the station for her, alongside family members of 60-70 other arrested women, they suddenly heard screaming. Rushing to the station, policemen came out and began beating the families with batons, as they saw ambulances leaving the station and guards claiming one of their own had been injured.
Kiarash showed Mahsa’s picture to a woman who had been inside the station, who confirmed that it was in fact Mahsa who was inside the ambulance. She died three days later from head injuries. The police claimed she suddenly developed a heart problem. She was a healthy 22-year-old with no medical conditions.
Since then, Iran has erupted in protests. The Iranian people have never been shy of protesting but this time, it’s been different. We finally have the attention, and support, of Western media.
Emily: What recently happened to fortify protests and those fighting against the government?
Anon: There are very few in Iran who still want the Islamic Republic. When news breaks out that a young woman was arrested for hijab violations and later murdered by the police, it will not go unheard.
Mahsa Jina Amini’s murder is a turning point for our brave youth in Iran, and we cannot ignore their sheer bravery and courage. The Iranian government is terrifying. Their capabilities are beyond public knowledge. Teenagers are disappearing from the streets after protests, turning up dead weeks later. Families are breaking and the country is suffering, all because of the government’s attempt to uphold the Islamic Republic.
As I find myself doing more often than not here at E4P, I want to clarify that the historical context today is incredibly simplified and is actually so much larger than just what we’re about to get into. But we have to start somewhere, and today that’s with Ben Affleck.
Jennifer Lopez’s husband produced, directed, and starred in the 2012 film Argo which focused on a lesser-known subplot of the often-dramatized Iran Hostage Crisis. The movie, as you may expect from its inclusion at this point in the conversation, does a very good job of making the US look very good and innocent and Iran look very evil and mean. While this is by no means a pro-hostage-taking newsletter, it’s also not really a pro-Ben Affleck one either so the existence of this movie offers us a great segue into the history of the Iranian Revolution as well as Americans’ misunderstandings about it and our role in it.
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In the 1900s prior to 1979, Iran’s leadership had become increasingly secular and Westernized. During World War II, the Allied powers had invaded and controlled Iran to serve as a passageway for Allied forces to connect with the Soviet Union to the north, which was notable because the invasion came after the Allies asked the reigning monarch Reza Shah to remove all Germans from the country and he declined. After British and Soviet forces invaded Iran in 1941, Reza Shah abdicated and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, took over the monarchy.
Twelve years later, after the prime minister became more popular than Pahlavi, the US and UK conducted a covert operation to depose Mohammad Mosaddegh in a coup d’état. After that, Pahlavi became increasingly authoritarian and aligned with the US (who he relied on for frequent support) which prompted figures like Muslim cleric Ruhollah Khomeini to speak out against the government. Khomeini was then exiled but this only bolstered his popularity: over the next fifteen years, as support for Pahlavi began to dissipate significantly, Khomeini garnered an increasing amount of support for a Muslim theocracy (or, a government led by religion and headed up by religious leaders).
Then finally, after a year of protests against the government which began in 1978, Pahlavi left Iran in January 1979 either to seek medical treatment, to flee to Egypt in exile, or to go on vacation—depending on which Wikipedia page you decide to refer to. Almost immediately, Khomeini returned to Iran and formed a new government, the Islamic Republic, with himself situated as the Supreme Leader or Ayatollah; then, “after holding a referendum, Iran officially became an Islamic republic in April 1979. A second referendum in December 1979 approved a theocratic constitution” (X).
Now, you might be wondering: if the majority of the Iranian people voted to install the Islamic Republic, why are they fighting against it? To which I will say: the majority of the American people voted to install Ronald Reagan and now he’s the second most hated man on Twitter. Things change.
In the 43 years since the Revolution, the world Khomeini promised the disappointed Iranian people has largely not come to pass. In the last five years, there have been two major waves of protests against the government which “indicates that within Iran the Islamic Republic not only has failed to foster Khomeini’s notion of a virtuous Islamic society, but indeed is facing a widespread rejection of his ideology” (X).
Khomeini’s government structure hinges on the “doctrine of velayat-e faqih, which means the (supreme) guardianship of the Islamic jurisprudent” (X). As Ladan Boroumand explains in the Journal of Democracy, “The absolute supremacy of the Islamic jurisprudent is the basis for the office of supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, an office that by definition demotes citizens to the status of minors and denies the sovereignty of the people.”
This logic is, in essence, what the Iranian people are protesting as the recent unrest was spurred by Mahsa Amini’s decision to practice personal autonomy in defiance of what the sovereign leader has said.
Wanting to delve a little deeper into the current dissatisfaction with the Republic, I asked my guest:
Emily: Who currently runs the government in Iran and why?
Anon: Iran’s most powerful figure is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been supreme leader since 1989. He has authority over the national police and morality police, those who murdered Mahsa. Second in power is President Ebrahim Raisi, whose power falls extremely short of Khamenei.
Whatever Khamenei says, goes. He has appointed the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and the Basij, the volunteer wing, who are widely hated by the Iranian people.
Emily: Is the current political structure what the people of Iran actually want from their government?
Anon: No, absolutely not. The people of Iran are fighting for democracy. To live the way you and I do, similar to the way Iranians lived before the Islamic Revolution. I don’t know a single Iranian who doesn’t want this change.
There have been multiple pro-government demonstrations in Tehran but given the magnitude of the situation and corruption of the government, everyone knows that these have been set up by the government. Any media telling you otherwise is wrong. The brave youth and Iranian people protesting and fighting are nothing but sheer patriots, who love their country so much that they’d be willing to die for change.
Emily: Why is it so important to understand the place of religion in everything that is happening?
Anon: Many will perceive these protests as anti-Islam or will twist the agenda towards one of Islamophobia. The Iranian people are fighting for their right to express their religion how they please.
Fighting for the choice to wear a hijab is fighting for basic human rights and that is something Americans take for granted. My mother, personally, is a Muslim who chooses not to wear a hijab, and that doesn’t make her any less of a Muslim than one who chooses to wear a hijab.
Now that we know the ins and outs of the history that is currently unfolding before us, I wanted to go a little deeper and look at who the recent developments have been affecting the most.
Have You No Sense of Humanity, Sir, At Long Last?
I have never been shy about sharing my gripes with the history education in America but some of the things my guest shared with my over the course of our conversation broke my heart and it all seems to go back to one glaring issue.
There is a desire, for whatever reason, in American culture to simplify everything down to nearly nothing. This is especially true about our history: we need to have heroes and villains, right and wrong, obstacles and prevailing victories—and we need to be the ones who always come out on top.
I know no one wants to hear this, especially the American exceptionalists here with us today (then again, when do I say anything in favor of them), but we have more often than not been the bad guys in our own history.
We’ve destabilized governments such as that in Iran for our own gain, only to turn around and villainize our very own Frankenstein when things stop going our way. As a result, so many Americans are all too quick to believe false narratives and problematic stereotypes even if we don’t realize it.
I'm not crazy about giving Dunkin’s Own Ben Affleck more attention today, but he offers the perfect example of this: by creating a film that only focused on “others” as the enemies and Americans as the ballsy saviors, we set ourselves up for the roles we want to play by creating the problems we need to overcome.2
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One thing my guest emphasized throughout our conversation and here in their answers was how this denies the autonomy of the Iranian people, and overlooks the necessity for humanity when talking about a population versus a government. To kick off that conversation, I asked:
Emily: Other than not being a self-centered rat of a person, why should everyone around the world care about what is happening in Iran right now?
Anon: Simply put, this is a human rights issue. To take it even further, a women’s rights issue.
The same way women around the world fight for the control of their own bodies is what is happening in Iran right now. A vast majority of people and media are ignoring what is occurring in Iran since it’s in Iran. Western mindsets of anti-Iran and anti-Middle East opinions are nothing new and have been prevalent in our lives since 9/11 and the Iraq war. Western media has painted the most negative image of our culture, our people, and our lives.
We are not our government. This is the first time since the Revolution where there is actually hope that there will be change, and we need all the support we can get to undergo this change.
Emily: What has been your experience growing up Iranian in a predominantly white community? How has that affected your relationship with Iran and have you experienced anything since to change how you see your parents' homeland?
Anon: For much of my youth, I tried to erase who I was to blend in with my friends and peers. I absolutely hated being different and resented my culture, language, and heritage. I hated having a name no one could pronounce. I hated not celebrating Christmas. I hated when my friends heard my parents or grandparents speaking Farsi, and I felt awkward when my classmates heard my parent’s accents when speaking English.
I often resent myself for this time in my life, for not realizing that the accent in my parent’s voice was sheer evidence of their strength and courage to come to an unfamiliar country, learn an unfamiliar language, all while being separated from their families and homeland.
Something shifted in me when I was called a terrorist for the first time in middle school. It was sort of a moment where I was like, “Wow, I really am different from these people.” It wasn’t until high school where I saw my differences almost being exploited but, simultaneously, felt honored to speak about my culture.
As someone who is naturally quiet, I rarely spoke in class, but during my sophomore year of high school, my history teacher asked me about my father’s immigration story. I told her that when he escaped Iran, he entered Turkey then Canada for a few years, and then came to the US. To this, she said, “Typical immigrant story, going to Canada first and then the US.” I was so put off by this, because yes, this is what immigrants must go through because the US is so restricting, but to hear her disregard my father’s powerful and painful journey here was extremely disheartening.
When George Floyd was murdered in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement was at the forefront of everyone’s minds, I expressed my desire to protest to my parents and I was greeted with a big fat no. As someone with parents who grew up in Iran and witnessed the extremely violent protests first-hand, I was told that I would never be allowed to attend any protest due to their trauma and fear that something would happen to me. My parents would argue that I’d get photographed and my life would be over.
They’re unable to shake these opinions because it’s all they’ve known with protests in Iran. When explaining the reason I wasn’t at the many BLM protests to my white friends, they never understood. I was often met with resentment and told I wasn’t doing enough. I was disheartened because they couldn’t see my parent’s perspective because they’d never heard anything like it.
These are the same people who haven’t posted about what’s going on and would never attend any of the Iranian protests happening in cities near them. Not a single one of my friends reached out to ask if my family in Iran is safe, if my parents and I were okay. It wasn’t until I called people out on social media that I saw a change.
Don’t shy away from your Iranian friends: they’re your greatest resource right now.
It wasn’t until I reached college where I really noticed how different my environment was growing up. I was suddenly thrown into a city, and a school, that was extremely diverse. I could count the number of white friends I have with one hand at university. I noticed myself naturally drawn, and surrounded by, other Iranians and people of color. I began to learn that my experiences growing up weren’t just me being stupid, we bonded over our parents and our equal distaste towards a vast majority of white people around us.
I have never been prouder to be Iranian, fighting alongside and for the courageous Iranians back home.
Emily: What role does international trauma play in the lives of Iranians globally?
Anon: Ever since September 11, 2001, the American government and people have painted a false narrative of all Middle Eastern people. From that day forward, we are terrorists, and nothing else. As a result of this image, no one cares about what is happening in that area of the world. Americans brush it off as being the “typical” Middle East when, historically, it was them and their country who have caused every single one of these issues and essentially destroyed our homes and our images abroad.
The ironic element here is that when Trump was elected president, Americans were quick to separate themselves from their government. But when, in this case, Iranians beg and plead the rest of the world to treat them as people and separate their image from the corrupt government, everyone goes silent.
Again: we are people and we are not our government. But because we are from Iran, we are “violent terrorists.” If you have an Iranian person in your life, you know that they are some of the kindest, most loving, and respectful people. We just wish the media would view us the same.
This isn’t to say that I haven’t seen change since the recent protests, but it’s not enough and the Iranian people deserve to have the Western world on their side.
Indulge me for a second here (more so than you already have by reading my newsletter), because I kept noticing in our chat the similarities between what is unfolding in Iran and the yassified version of America’s origin story: a population is being oppressed by their ruling body and are the underdogs in the fight. But they know they deserve to have freedom and, at the very least, just not be treated like shit so they put up a fight for their future.
Why are we so quick to run away from helping—or worse, continue to villainize—the people of Iran? This is a fight largely being led by Gen Z, people who have their whole lives ahead of them and are putting them on the line for the sake of independence and self-governance.
Isn’t that the exact definition of all that woo-woo American Dream nonsense?
If we’re ready to unpack some of the internalized lessons in bias we hold, we arrive at the big question: what can we do to help? To which I have no choice but to say…
In the Wise Words of Britney Spears: Why Don’t You Do Something???
We’ve talked a number of times here about the problems that arise when activism becomes performative—and with good reason. But the other main thing that stood out in the conversation with my guest that I couldn’t shake was how much this problem is irrelevant in this specific situation.
I asked:
Emily: How does talking about Iran online differ from a lot of the performative activism that has cropped up on social media over the past few years?
Anon: As someone who is extremely active on social media and was present during BLM and other major US movements, I’ve seen the way my community has spoken about these matters. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was posting about modern events on their Instagram stories, but as time went on, these posts died out and were quickly labeled as “performative activism” and the idea of sharing your opinion on your social media became slightly taboo. Instead, you would be advised to go to protests and donate.
In our case, with the government blocking the internet, Iranians have to rely on the rest of the world to raise awareness. The government has quite literally cut off the country from the rest of the world, only allowing brief access when much of the world is asleep. The media we see coming out of Iran is shared in the few hours they have access to restricted media.
WhatsApp, our main communication method to family in Iran, has been blocked. We’ve had to purchase phone cards and use our landlines to call my grandparents, only speaking to them a few minutes per week. When speaking with them, the topic of what’s occurring in the country is off limits.
The government of Iran has abilities that we still don’t know. Their main goal is to make the world stop talking about what is happening, to paint the picture that Iranian people are subordinate to their country. In an effort to do so, they cut the internet and connection to the outside world, punish activists and journalists, and ban outspoken individuals from entering the country.
If they see your name on anything anti-Iran, they will not hesitate to arrest you, ban you, or murder you. As a result, it is essential that we forego our ideas of performative activism and post on our stories, say her name—Mahsa Amini—and educate the world on what is occurring in our country.
If you see your Iranian friends speaking about what is going on, just know that they are risking their lives to do so. We do not have the privilege that you do, so all we ask is for you to be our voice.
Emily: What can the average person do to bring awareness to this issue, and why is it so important that as many people as possible take action?
Anon: Since Iranians are being stripped of their voice through internet cuts throughout the country, the main way everyone can help, no matter how minuscule it may sound, is to share on their social media accounts. Destroy whatever opinion you have on performative activism because this is all we really can do in this situation. Be the voice for the people who are no longer allowed to have a voice.
There are Iranian spies at NYC protests asking people if they’re Iranian and then asking for their names. They are taking pictures of people, and we don’t know what they’re doing with this information. We aren’t safe anywhere, yet we are doing the most we can to raise awareness since no one else will.
Emily: What is the number one thing you want people to walk away from this conversation knowing?
Anon: I wish people would acknowledge the courage and bravery of the Iranian youth fighting for their basic human rights in an extremely restrictive and corrupt government.
They love their country, their people, and their culture, and I wish for everyone reading this to be their voice. Use your freedom of speech, something they are fighting for, to raise awareness and to speak of the terrible things the government is doing to our people.
What is happening in Iran is not likely to stop any time soon. Recently, news broke about the murder of another young female activist named Nika Shahkarami whose mother was told she fell from a building, and there was a fatal fire in the Evin prison which, according to the BBC, “is known for housing political prisoners.” In some ways, that’s a great thing as it only goes to show the strength and determination of the Iranian people. But it can be demoralizing to remain in an intense fight for so long.
I asked my guest:
Emily: How do you remain hopeful in such a high-stakes situation?
Anon: One thing you’ll hear from every Iranian is that we believe this time is different. We see potential that is inexplainable. People are fighting with everything in them, to bring justice to Mahsa Amini, and the hundreds who followed after her.
Iranians are as united as ever, no matter what the government says.
And finally, to end on a high note, I asked my guest about:
Emily: Anthony Bourdain?
Anon: Throughout all of the years following 9/11, he was the only person to paint an accurate picture of Iran. He showed the true beauty of our people and our country. He is deeply cherished by all Iranians, whom are all grateful for his honest and accurate depiction of the country and culture we love so much.
I am so honored my guest was so willing to talk with me today about their life and their family. They’re one of the bravest and strongest people I know and I hope I did their story justice!!!
There is, of course, a very serious reason why my guest is remaining anonymous today, but I also kind of love the middle finger it gives to all those thick headed conservatives who seem to find gender neutral pronouns so baffling.
I’m not going to delve too deep into this but one could also make the case that Ben Affleck also did this in his relationship with JLo by calling off the engagement 20 years ago so that he could be the night in shining armor in the post-A-Rod era. I digress.