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Teachers and Villagers Protest in Iran

Iran: Education workers protesting in two major cities

They gathered outside the Department of Education to demand their rights, holding up placards that read “A teacher’s place is not in prison”, “poverty line= 7 million (tomans), a teacher’s salary= 2 million (tomans)”, “stop privatization of schools”, and “adequate housing for pensioners”.

Saturday also saw protests by the residents of Chenar Mahmoudi village and Lordegan county, despite attempts by the State Security forces to suppress the protesters. The residents held a protest outside the Department of Health and Medical Care in Lordegan, while the young people blocked the Lordegan-Khuzestan road. State Security forces attacked the villagers to stop the protest from expanding, even firing shots into the air to disperse the crowd.

One protester said: “The attack by security forces is horrible and we need help.”

This protest came after over 300 villagers, including children and babies, were infected with the HIV/AIDS virus because health ministry workers used the same disposable syringe multiple times while conducting a diabetes test on the residents.

On previous days, teachers and educators in Isfahan and Tabriz had held protests outside the local departments of education, with security forces also trying to disrupt the protests.

On Monday, September 30, a number of teachers from the Literacy Movement held a protest outside the Lorestan Department of Education after being told their services were no longer needed.

While on Tuesday, October 1, those defrauded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)-backed fraudulent Caspian Financial Institute in Mashhad held a protest outside the company’s 14th Branch to demand the return of their stolen assets.

The Iranian people have a long history of rising up against injustice, no matter what it costs them.  In September alone, there were over 284 protests in 71 cities, and 28 provinces across Iran with an average of nine protests per day, despite the increasingly suppressive forces of the Iranian Regime, who threatened protesters with lengthy prison terms and lashes.

This was more protests than last month; largely because of the start of the new academic year. Not only did we see more protests by teachers and students heavily affected by the educational policies of the Regime, but also by parents who cannot afford to send their children to school, even though school is supposed to be free.

However, protests also increased because of worker layoffs at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Factory in the southern city of Shush.

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