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AkaashMaharaj t1_iuihsj7 wrote

It has been forty-five days since Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in police custody in Iran. She had been arrested by Iranā€™s religious morality police for not wearing the hijab, as required by the state. Eyewitnesses report that police beat her viciously before her death.

Her death has unleashed waves of mass protests across Iran, often under the slogan ā€œWomen, Life, Freedomā€, and often led by young women. The government of Iran has responded with repression, and by cutting off internet access in the province of Kurdistan.

Many observers are asking if this could be the beginning of a new phase of mass repression by the Iranian state, or the beginning of the end for the Iranian regime.

We are delighted to have Dorsa Jabbari with us to discuss the protests, their impact in Iran, and the potential consequences across the world.

Dorsa Jabbari was born in Iran and immigrated to Canada at the age of ten. She completed a Bachelor degree in English and Fine Art History from the University of Toronto. After five years working at CTV, Canadaā€™s largest private television network, Dorsa moved to Qatar, to join the launch of Al Jazeera English. She returned to Iran in 2010, to work as Al Jazeeraā€™s primary correspondent in the country.

She tweets at @DorsaJabbari

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Alex will moderate the written discussion thread, and will put a representative cross-section of questions and comments to our guest. Alex leads some of Redditā€™s largest communities, including r/WorldNews, r/News, r/Politics, and r/Geopolitics.

Willian will support the Talk. He leads a range of Reddit communities, including r/WorldNews, r/AskLatinAmerica, r/Brazil, and r/Europe. He tweets at @Tetizera.

I, Akaash, will moderate the conversation. Outside Reddit, I serve as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, and as a Senior Fellow at the University of Torontoā€™s School of Global Affairs. At Reddit, I lead the r/Equestrian community. I tweet at @AkaashMaharaj and I am on Instagram at @AkaashMaharaj.

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Dorsa Jabbari

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StPariah t1_iuiht70 wrote

Much love you werenā€™t lying about all of the insta views during test two

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SirJackson360 t1_iuihw5g wrote

Glad to be here @dieyoufool3 Hope you are well and thanks for these chats!

-Prof. J

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mrelieb t1_iuii6g3 wrote

I see iranians protesting in U.S and Europe and I say to myself if yall had the same ballz as those who are standing up to the government in Iran, maybe something would have changed... So easy to say I support you lol

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f-edupstranger t1_iuiiazl wrote

How would she assess the real chance that the protests might transform into a definite revolution?

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Stitch25691 t1_iuiih7h wrote

Nice to join. Most every Government involves certain levels of Religious control.

What is the driving factor, in an Iranian Culture, would the General Iranian Population support in defense of liberty.

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metalheadx7 t1_iuiisac wrote

To stop Russia and China, could the USA+West shake hands with Iran and remove all sanctions.

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kubilay-lay t1_iuij5z0 wrote

Jin Jiyan Azadi / woman life freedom

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aeinnajva t1_iuijtjp wrote

We only want complete regime change.no reforms

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FoxtrotKe t1_iuijzd7 wrote

The economic situation, unemployment have also been a huge factor

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arash2003 t1_iuil0ck wrote

The economy is going through bankruptcy because most of the share holders in stock market are selling their shares and it has cause the government to buy the shares themselves.

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No_Pen_1510 t1_iuil8jc wrote

How many are willing to die for change freedom isn't free you pay with your life.

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Spring-Both t1_iuimn9i wrote

The bigger issue is even if it does happen itā€™s rarely a good thing. Usually someone just as bad if not worse takes over in the chaos. A regime change without weapons when the other side has then and arenā€™t afraid to use them though is extremely unlikely.

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UncertainlyUnfunny t1_iuimqex wrote

Al Jazeera said both: western influence is fueling protests now, and that it has in the past. Do they have evidence of current western intervention or is that just based on what they saw in the past?

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Jaster22101 t1_iuin0rn wrote

The Arab spring had mixed success

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arash2003 t1_iuinlpu wrote

I'm from Iran and currently living in Iran. I would be happy to answer any questions.

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SirJackson360 t1_iuio32p wrote

Whatā€™s next? Where is the future of these protests in our speakers mind?

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JohnnytheFox81HA t1_iuiq57s wrote

The US says it will "not waste" more time on the Iran Nuclear Deal. If the current regime topples, what will be Iran's stance on nuclear weapons?

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66stang351 t1_iuitsrj wrote

Plenty of guns in Iran's neighbors and in countries with an interest in seeing the regime fall. The US, Israel, Saudis, Turkey, Pakistan, and the Saudis are all big powers in the region who prefer Iran be kept under wraps, without nuclear weapons. Any one of which has the resources to supply an uprising if one materializes.

Not saying a bloody uprising is a good thing, either on the world stage or Iranians. There is no gaurantee the next regime is much better, and you could even see ISIS enter the power vacuum like they have in Iran's neighbors. Granted Iran is Shia so they'd have a tougher road, but Iraq is mostly Shia too and I'm pretty sure ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran recently...

And without a 'rival' Iran, the Saudis might get even more emboldened. And they're pretty big dicks already

Would be cool if basic human rights were available though. Be a Muslim republic if you want, but hijabs should be seen as what they are..a damn fashion choice.

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NegotiationTall4300 t1_iuiubzf wrote

I know it's never that cut and dry, but what do you think will be the or a key indicator of the toppling of the current regime as this continues?

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Spring-Both t1_iuiwtcy wrote

Itā€™s unfortunately a different scenario the ussr had been collapsing for a long time and thatā€™s not the case with Iran. Also the big thing is religious fanaticism, as long as they think theyā€™re doing gods work they will mow down anyone who gets in their way theyā€™ve proved that already.

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WhoDaFooookIsThatGuy t1_iuj5jcq wrote

The days of the theocracy will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. The protestors shouldn't settle for anything less than the SECULAR REPUBLIC OF IRAN, with equal rights for everyone including LGBT people and atheists.

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UncertainlyUnfunny t1_iujandx wrote

I think that the speaker implied more that western interests were helping to support and ferment this particular effort and stage directly, as had been, apparently historically the case. But I also noticed that they waffled, and I was looking for further clarity. I think any journalistic organization should be evidence-based

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Spring-Both t1_iujbzcs wrote

Havenā€™t you ever heard the phrase ā€œold boss is a jerk till you meet the new bossā€ it can always get worse. No matter how evil the current regime is thereā€™s always someone out there who is even worse. You can disagree with me all you want but historically speaking regime changes rarely work out for the better feel free to look it up. People always like to point out of French Revolution but then ignore all the bad that happened during and after it was one step forward two steps back.

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erfan226 t1_iujdc0a wrote

I know what you mean. But the thing is, one should know about the context. That's why "historically speaking", this is one of those cases where the revolution might actually work for better. There are not many alternatives currently, but the people want to choose a new type of give after overthrowing this one. I'm not sure how familiar you are with IR, but there's nothing that they haven't done to the country and its people (maybe except bombing the people like they did in Syria). So any other alternative might actually be a little better. But that's what the people should decide.

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Spring-Both t1_iujf9ri wrote

The how bad it is doesnā€™t really affect how successful the new system will be and even I can think of ways for them to be more evil. I hope it works out for them I honestly do but the odds are against them even if they succeed.

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erfan226 t1_iujfxnp wrote

Sure. That's totally correct. I'm just saying with a revolution there is a possibility of things getting better. But without it, one can be sure that things will get much worse.

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Trayeth t1_iujoo2a wrote

It depends on how receptive and supportive the West is of the new government. If they actually hold a free and fair non-Theocratic election, there may be a rapprochement. I wonder how Saudi Arabia and Israel would react haha

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Trayeth t1_iujoruj wrote

Is there any view among the people that there needs to be constitutional reform to remove the Theocratic elements, or is it more big picture than that?

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toyboyfiesta t1_iujz85i wrote

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