Iranian students support the protests
People of Iran! Today we must all be united in saying “No” to the Islamic Republic. No one knows what the unwritten tomorrow holds, and no single individual force will determine our destiny. But one thing is certain: it is time to move, time to act. We must rise and write our destiny with our own hands.
Joint Statement by Student Activists of the Universities of Tehran, Beheshti, Allameh, Iran University of Science and Technology, and Tarbiat Modares in Support of Nationwide Protests
For years, those in power have feared the university and have sought to destroy it through repression and erosion. Today, crises have piled on top of one another: poverty, inequality, class oppression, gender oppression, pressure on nations, and the crisis of water and the environment. All of these are the direct products of a corrupt and worn-out system; the naked symbol of a repressive policy whose bloodthirsty face has become even more evident, especially after various social movements, in the November 2019 protests and the uprising of “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
The regime’s policy toward the university follows this same pattern of repression: stripping it of any political and critical elements, and turning the university into a castrated arena dominated by mercenary paramilitary Basij forces. The relentless efforts of the Ministry of Science and university presidents to commodify education and eliminate all welfare services are all aimed at transforming the university from a political and socially concerned institution into an economic and passive enterprise. Yet despite all this, the university has once again reminded us that it stands against tyranny and, in the darkest turning points of history – whether under the Pahlavi monarchy or under Islamic rule – it has emerged proudly from the test of freedom-seeking and equality. The university has always been a strong barrier against every form of reactionary archaic institution and has made its progressive voice louder each day.
The student is the child of this history. It is only natural that slogans such as “Neither Pahlavi nor the Leader; Freedom and Equality” rise from within the university, and that “Woman, Life, Freedom” echoes so powerfully. These pressures, though they have slowed the growth of free dialogue and radical critique, and have repeatedly pushed back discussion of gender discrimination and the right to live freely, have not silenced it. Today the university is the beating heart of the connection among diverse viewpoints. The university and the student bow to no authority. The clenched fists that shout “Death to dictatorship” address every form of authoritarianism and dictatorial rule, whether present or absent.
Today the university, once again emphasizing that historic “No” of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, stands alongside the people against false binaries and walks with them. What is necessary now is the unity of the nation against the Islamic Republic, the Pahlavi monarchy, and the Mujahedin-e Khalq. This is where the meaning of being the voice of the people begins; however, such solidarity must not deprive the university of expressing its own voice. We are trying, through an internal dialogue, to reach affirmative visions and a collective imagination for Iran’s tomorrow – a tomorrow in which freedom and equality go hand in hand, and where women’s liberation and the end of gender oppression are the driving forces of change. Changes that will occur through democratic institutions in step with the weakening of structures of domination and exploitation. A tomorrow will arrive without the principles and discourse of the Guardianship of the Jurist, without compulsory hijab and without executions, and we will experience the realization of freedom and equality.
The student movement, with a transformative imagination, seeks a future free from tyranny and will not submit to any form of authoritarianism. Today, our progress requires a new plan in hand. The crises of society and the incompetence of all opposing sides to the Islamic Republic have brought us to a point where we claim the student movement needs affirmative activism. That is, it must respond to the demands of the time, stand alongside the people and various social groups in their calls for justice, and formulate the processes through which these demands can be achieved.
People of Iran! Today we must all be united in saying “No” to the Islamic Republic. No one knows what the unwritten tomorrow holds, and no single individual force will determine our destiny. But one thing is certain: it is time to move, time to act. We must rise and write our destiny with our own hands.
Children of Iran
From the streets of the university
Statement first jointly published by:
University of Tehran – Daneshjo
Telegram @daneshjo_ut
Independent Student Union of Beheshti (Senfi Mostaghel)
Telegram @motalebe_shorayesenfi
