Sharif University of Technology is the leader in Iran for engineering studies, where only students with the highest grades are welcome. Among other things, one of Iran’s highest leaders, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest advisor, has taught there for decades.
But when anti-government protests erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in a police cell in September, the university became a hub for the biggest anti-government protests in over a decade.
“We have become politically active because there is nothing to lose,” says a student in electrical engineering who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
— The way things are now in Iran, you have to emigrate and leave your family and friends, or stay and fight for your rights, he continues.
Daily protests
Iranians across the country have been demonstrating in the streets against social oppression, a poor economy and global isolation. At Sharif University, protests have erupted almost daily for the past month, escalating after a violent clash when security forces responded with tear gas on 2 October.
It is easier to organize protests on campus than out in a square, believes one of the students.
— True or false, people have a feeling that it is safer to protest on campus, says Moeen, who does not want to give his last name.
Tradition of revolts
Universities have previously been rocked by student revolts. During Richard Nixon’s visit after the US-backed coup in 1953, the Shah’s forces stormed the Tehran University campus, killing three. Major protests rocked Sharif University, among others, before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
In 1999, protests broke out again at the University of Tehran, among students demanding reforms.
After a long lull, the student protests have now come to life again.
— Students have discovered that they will not get their rights within this framework. They demand an end to the Islamic Republic, says Mohammad Ali Kadivar, who was educated in Iran and is now active at Boston College in the United States.