Raisi’s Death: A Hollow Victory for the Women of Iran

Iran confirmed on Monday morning that President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash.

While the loss of these two senior officials is dramatic, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains in control of foreign policy and military decisions. According to Article 131 of Iran’s constitution, in the event of the president’s death, the first vice president steps in as the acting president. Mohammad Mokhber, a staunch supporter of Khamenei, holds that role.

For the women of Iran, who have endured brutality and oppression under Raisi’s presidency, his death offers little solace. The structures of gender apartheid and suppression remain firmly in place, continuing to dictate their daily lives and freedoms.

This is further explained by an Iranian journalist who, for her safety, wishes to remain anonymous:

Under Raisi’s presidency, the “morality” police became much more brutal. They started beating women in the streets, and the government’s enforcement of hijab laws became more violent. It was under his presidency that they killed Mahsa Jina Amini, and many other women were beaten. Raisi’s presidency marked a new era of terror for women who rejected the compulsory hijab. Although many people know Raisi for his actions in the 1980s, in the past three years, we lost so many women because of the brutality of his government. 

For the majority of people I know and am in contact with, there is a sense of happiness about Raisi’s death, especially among women. Many people are happy, but you might not see the pictures or videos because we are forbidden to show our happiness. This morning, the intelligence ministry called me and said I shouldn’t show my happiness and that I should delete some posts and tweets. I assume they have also called other journalists. Despite this, I see that people are very happy, especially women.

However, we are also realistic because I don’t think that his death is going to change much. The rules that suppress women and the will to continue gender apartheid are not limited to Raisi alone. The entire structure of the Islamic Republic is based on gender apartheid and is determined to suppress women at any cost. Therefore, I don’t think that his death will change anything in our daily lives because the laws remain against us.

Journalists and activists are already in danger. In political systems such as the Islamic Republic, only one narrative is going to be published. If anyone wants to discuss different aspects of what is going on, they will be punished and suppressed. The government wants the world to believe that everyone is mourning Raisi’s death. So, if I, as a journalist, talk about people celebrating his death, it creates a contradiction, and the government will try to suppress me. The suppression has different levels. I was threatened today that I will be punished and there will be new charges against me. But I won’t be afraid or stop sharing the truth about what’s going on.

Justice wasn’t served by man but by nature. We are happy, but we don’t see it changing any laws in the near future as long as the current regime is in power. In the meantime, we will have a few days of happiness — but as long as the structure of the Islamic Republic is based on the oppression of women, it won’t be fixed.”