Dr. Mohammad Maleki, the first president of Tehran University after the revolution, who himself had a long history of fighting for freedom, equality, and justice before and after the 1957 revolution, saw the university as a fortress of freedom and a tall tower guarding the Iranian nation’s quest for freedom. When Sadeq Zibakalam, a professor of political science at the university and one of the university’s most devoted students, named him a professor for all seasons on the eve of the February 1957 revolution, the university was and still is a fortress of freedom. Whether before the coup d’état of August 28, 1953, or after it, when on December 7, 1953, three martyrs lost their lives in an attack on Tehran University, paving the way for the Iranian student movement.

Students have a quality that many social classes lack. As Dr. Ali Shariati said about the three martyrs of December 16, 1953 at the University of Tehran, “These three elementary school friends who have not yet left school, have not yet finished their studies, did not want to take a piece of bread like others and go from behind the university desk to the back of the market and sell themselves.” (2) Students at the beginning of their youth still do not have and do not want to have two elements. They still have their heads in the clouds of ideals and are not yet contaminated by the hard reality of life and its struggles. This is how the university in Iran, with a history of dictatorship, has become a fortress of freedom; from before December 16, 1953 until today and until the people’s protest movement in 2022. The history of the university after the revolution has been suppressed; from the cultural revolution, which the first president of

With the beginning of the protest movement in Iran after the government’s murder of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the final days of Shahrivar 1401, the university once again became the forefront of the fight for freedom in Iran. This time, however, it was Sharif University of Technology that entered the scene and turned into a battleground between defenders of freedom and oppressors. On September 26, 1401, more than ten professors of this university went on strike in response to the nationwide protests and in solidarity with the detained students, declaring that they would not hold classes until the detained students were released. Many students from universities across the country and Sharif University itself also refrained from attending classes in protest, issuing statements condemning the suppression of protests and the detention of students. On Monday, October 1, 1401, Sharif University students once again gathered, chanting slogans against the security and Basij forces and shouting “Death to tyranny” and “Women,

During these more than three months since the beginning of the people’s protest movement in Iran, university students came to the streets in an unprecedented manner. Universities joined the protests, which activists on social networks said they never thought students or professors from those universities would protest. However, in these more than three months since the beginning of the protest movement in Iran, something else has also happened. Previously, student protests mostly took place in public and well-known universities, but in this 1401 protest movement, students from private universities also came to the streets; to the point that students from universities such as the Non-Governmental Non-Profit Higher Education Institute of Pars Architecture and Art, Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University Shahriar-Shahr-e-Qods, or even Payam Noor University in Marivan were among the detainees in these protests; also, at Shiraz Azad University, students were arrested at the university entrance.

The beginning of the protest movement was sparked by the government’s murder of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Basij. Gender discrimination against women and mandatory hijab were among the issues that the people of Iran have been protesting against for the past three months. The issue of segregation in university dormitories and the unequal treatment of male and female students in terms of dining became a symbol for students to protest against this separation and gender discrimination. On October 22, 2022, students at Sharif University protested against gender segregation by having lunch in the cafeteria. The next day, security officials, accompanied by Basij forces, tried to block the entrance of students to the cafeteria by removing tables and chairs; an attempt that was unsuccessful due to the continued protests of the students. This event, which took place in the cafeterias of several universities, including Sharif University, Allameh Tabatabai University, and University of Tehran, was unprecedented in the history of the student movement after

Another factor in this period of student protests was the role of social networks. Students who had connected with each other on various social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic used the same communication channels to organize their protests. There was no specific student institution, such as the Office of Consolidation of Unity or recognized student associations, that were in charge of planning the protests. Instead, the body of the student movement used horizontal networks and online social media tools to coordinate their protests, making it difficult for the repressive forces to confront them.

Another issue is the timing of these student protests. In the past three decades, after the war, student protests would usually stop within a few days or at most a few weeks and the government would deal with them, but now for more than three months, the student movement, alongside the Iranian society, has been protesting and pursuing their struggles. Students who came to the streets after the blow of 88 and in the 90s, with the leadership of university activists, were also present during the protests in 96 and 98, but after a while, their activities became scarce due to widespread suppression. However, today, despite the arrest of over 650 students (according to daily reports from HRANA news agency on current protests until December 20th), the student movement continues; students who have been arrested, abducted, beaten, and injured all over the country, yet they have still managed to keep the university as a stronghold and guardian of freedom. Both then and now, and overall since

One of the characteristics of this period of student movement activities was its diversity in terms of ethnicity, class, and geography. Over the past three months, since the beginning of the recent protests at Allameh Tabatabai University, it has had the highest number of arrests (35 people) among universities where students have been detained by the authorities. Other universities include: University of Tehran with 30 students, Beheshti University with 19 students, K.N.Toosi University of Technology with 18 students, Tarbiat Modares and Tehran Polytechnic universities, each with 16 students, Kharazmi University with 15 students, Noshirvani Babol, Gilan (Rasht), and Alzahra universities, each with 14 students, Tehran University of Art and Culture and Art, each with 12 students, Pars Institute of Higher Education (non-governmental and non-profit) with 11 students, Sharif and Kurdistan universities, each with

From the university to the market, from the north to the south of the city, and from every social class and level, they have gathered in the square this time. The slogans are clear. They chant the progressive slogan of “Women, Life, Freedom” to protest against all forms of discrimination and demand a life and the precious gem of freedom. They boldly speak out against the oppressive regime and its legal and political rights. They speak of freedom, justice, optional social life, and opposition to tyranny in all its forms. In the far corners of the country, the talk is of solidarity, and the people stand alongside the student movement. Sometimes they chant slogans that may not be polite, but they break the idol of tyranny and its repressive force. The student movement has joined the people in many universities in the past three months; of course, there are still many government and private universities and educational centers where their place is empty in the protest movement, but it is not an exaggeration to

Footnotes:

1- “Love’s Drink”; in memory of the late Dr. Mohammad Maleki, Ali Kalai, Zeytoon website, 24 Dey 1399.

2- Ali Shariati’s account of three drops of blood on the face of the university, Khabar Online, 13 Dey month 1389.

3- Khajeste Rahimi, Reza, the Star Students’ Protest against the Minister of Science, Deutsche Welle Persian, December 26, 2006.

4- Less participation, more protest, Etemad newspaper, 26 Azar 1401.

5- Women, Life, Freedom; A detailed report of eighty-two days of protests across Iran, Hrana, the news agency of the Iranian human rights activists, 18 Azar 1401.

6- Urgent Call to Action: The Physical and Mental Health Needs of Children Participating in Nationwide Protests in Iran, Valenteer Activists Website, October 2022.