Members of the Orange County Iranian community gathered at the intersection of Culver Drive and Barranca Parkway on April 30. Residents were protesting against the Islamic authoritarian regime in Iran, as they have been doing every Sunday for the past 28 weeks.
On Sept. 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was found dead under custody of Iranian morality police. Amini was arrested for not correctly wearing her hijab in accordance with Islamic law. As reported by NPR, evidence showed signs that Amini was brutally beaten while being detained, which led to her death. Following the announcement of her death, Iranians took to the streets calling for freedom, justice and regime change in Iran, which spurred the worldwide Iranian Women’s Rights Movement that continues today.
Protests have erupted nationwide in the United States as communities rallied against the regime’s actions and the untimely demise of Amini. The April 30 demonstration in Orange County stands as a prominent event within the broader campaign for freedom.
Farhad Mafie, both a member of the Orange County Iranian community and protester, shared his motivation for joining the movement with the New University.
“Today in Iran, they are gassing 12, 13 or 15-year-old kids in their schools, which is supposed to be the safest place to live, but they are being sent to hospitals from those areas,” Mafie said.
With the Iranian regime denying the existence of the Holocaust, Mafie, satirically, commented on the attacks on girl schools as “Iran’s Auschwitz.” Referring to an incident reported by Bloomberg, thousands of schoolgirls in Iran have been poisoned by toxic gas, in an radical attack aimed at forcing them to comply with hijab laws. Iranian police “arrested over 100 people” for poisoning girl schools, but no charges were ever made. Many international institutions, including the Human Rights Watch, compare this effort to the 1988 Mass Executions, where 30,000 political prisoners were massacred by the same Islamic regime in Iran.
Protestors including Mafie suspect that the attacks are planned out by the regime itself.
“It is disappointing that no one in the Western World is opposing this, [or even] saying anything about this.” Mafie said.
Another Orange County protester, requesting anonymity, told the New University that “[Iran] is supporting the terrorists, supporting Russia to kill Ukranians, this regime is the root cause of all terrorist activities, and they should go. ‘Free Iran,’ economically, is a great benefit to all of the world. We really need a regime change, not only for Iran, but also for all of the world.”
Mafie and many advocates are calling for cities across Orange County to condemn the Iranian regime with resolutions. So far, according to the Voice of OC, large cities in Orange County including Anaheim, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach have already done so. The goal of Orange County protestors is for the entirety of Orange County to condemn the Iranian regime.
“We want the Biden administration to stop supporting the [Iranian Islamic Republic’s] system. Iranian activists [have] been calling congress persons [to support the act] to put significant sanctions against the leaders of the Islamic republic.” Mafie said.
The Irvine protest took place at all four corners of the intersection of Culver Drive and Barranca Parkway. The flag of the United States and pre-revolution Iran were featured. Protesters took to the intersection with flags in hand as others donned them across their bodies.
As Irvine citizens joined and left the protest intermittently, the crowd was organized as volunteers made sure traffic flow was not impacted. The crowd held signs of “Women, Life, Freedom” and “Islamic Regime Must Go,” while a van drove around the block with similar protest slogans and posters covering its surface. One protestor, requesting anonymity, shared the reasoning behind their attendance.
“[I want] to be the voice of voiceless people in Iran,” they said, “When I see my 15-year-old here have the freedom of speech and all the freedom that they take for granted, [it reminds me of] people in Iran are giving their lives for it.”
They continued, “a lot of kids in my daughter’s age have been killed, they are in prison, being tortured, being raped. So, as a human being, I see this as my responsibility to be out, every week, in these protests, to be the voice of my people in Iran.”
Irvine city mayor Farrah Khan expressed her support to the protestors in a Facebook post.
“I want to thank our incredible Iranian American community for showing up every Sunday at the corner of Barranca and Culver, fighting for freedom in Iran,” Khan wrote, adding,“And I will be there to continue supporting these efforts. The cowardice attacks on youth by the Iranian government must stop.”
International forces represented by the United Nations have been following the development of this human right crisis in Iran. On Dec. 14, 2022, citing how the Iranian regime “continuously undermines and increasingly suppresses the human rights of women and girls”, a U.S.-drafted resolution was adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The resolution expelled the Islamic regime from the Commission on the Status of Women for its remaining 2022-2026 term.
Under both domestic and international pressure, the Iranian regime publicly announced the abolishment of morality police last December.
“They haven’t done that… even if they do, they will repackage the same organization under a different name and uniform.” Mafie said, regarding the abolition.
The UN decision was considered a major victory by the protestors. However, Mafie believes it is far from enough.
“The Islamic Regime itself must go,” Mafie said, together with many other protestors on the scene, “Islam is embedded with the regime, they cannot deviate from it.”
Drivers and pedestrians passed by blowing their car horns and cheered in support of the protestors, many of which were of non iranian descent. Mafie and other protesters were gratified seeing this.
“There are no organizations behind us, no politicians behind us, this is just people getting together,” Mafie said.
Another protestor, requesting anonymity commented that “This [protest] is not just about being an Iranian, it is about being a human, and fighting for humanity.”
With this ideal being held in their hearts, Sunday’s protestors want their campaign to be not only about the Iranian American community, but also include all other society members who support freedom.
“We invite the non-Iranian as well, [for them] to join this movement, so we can be the voice of the people that do not have any voices,” Maife said.
Deng Liu is a City News Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at dengnl@uci.edu