In the autumn of 2022, Iran was rocked by a wave of national, popular unrest, some of the most severe in recent years. The immediate cause of the revolt was the suspicious death of an Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jîna Amini, whilst in the custody of the Tehran police. Amini’s death proved to be a lightning rod for discontent directed at the Islamist government in Iran, which took power after the 1979 revolution. Significantly, at the forefront of these protests were women, who have long chafed under the strict moral codes imposed by the regime. However, while the Islamic Republic ultimately weathered the storm of public anger, this has left many asking what does this mean for the future of the country?
To discuss the protests and their meaning, we’re joined by journalist and author Fatemeh Jamalpour, co-author of the book For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising. Writing from Tehran during
these historic events, Fatemeh risked her safety to bear witness to the voices of women and young people demanding freedom, dignity and change.
Fatemeh Jamalpour is a feminist journalist banned from working in Iran by the Ministry of Intelligence. Jamalpour has worked as a freelance reporter for outlets such as The Sunday Times, The Paris Review and the Los Angeles Times, and has also held positions at BBC World News in London and Shargh newspaper in Tehran. She has two master's degrees in journalism and communication from Northwestern University and Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran and was a 2024-25 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan.
