‘We want the clerics to get lost’: Iran’s schoolgirls emerge as powerful voices of dissent

Schoolgirls in Iran drive an official away from a school, chanting ‘Bisharaf!’ – a grave insult in Farsi that means ‘shameless’ or ‘dishonourable’. Photograph: Handout

On Monday night, 16-year-old Elnaz sat at home in the Iranian city of Karaj and wept with shock and rage as she scrolled through social media posts about the death of Nika Shakarami. The 17-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly tortured and killed by Iran’s security forces as they try to suppress the protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, allegedly beaten by police for infringing the hijab regulations.

The next morning, Elnaz arrived at school to find a small group of friends gathered in the playground, pulling off their hijabs and shouting: “Death to the dictator.”