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• 1 media/shutterstock_1113461903-1-1.jpg 2024-10-30T05:18:06-07:00 De-persify your Iran 36 The repression of Iranian ethnic and religious minorities image_header 2024-12-09T06:31:13-08:00 Like many countries that solidified a seemingly homogenous national identity during the 20th century, Iran undertook this process by repressing its minority populations. This repression did not discriminate against any type of minority, be it gender, ethnicity, religion, class, etc. In Iran, the struggles of minorities, especially ethnic and religious groups, are intertwined with broader issues of human rights and freedom. The country is home to various ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluchis, as well as religious minorities such as Bahá’ís, Christians, and Jews. These groups have long faced systemic discrimination and repression under the Islamic Republic.
  In general, one can split the minority populations into religious minorities and ethnic minorities, though we see some overlap in both. It is unfortunately difficult to get up-to-date information on the sizes of these groups. 
      Persian is the largest ethnic group, comprising around 51-60% of the population depending on the source, but suffice to say they are more than half of the population. Azeri’s are the largest ethnic minority, at around 24%, then Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, and Turkmen 2%. About 2% are classified as “other”.
      The largest religious group is Islam of course, 98% of the population identifies themselves as Muslim, though 89% is Shi’a, and 9% Sunni. Some sources will then claim that the Baha’i faith is the largest religious minority in Iran. It is hard to find an exact size or solid fact on this, as the Baha’i faith is not legally recognized as a faith in Iran, but it is estimated they number around 350,000. Then, there are Christians, between 40,000-80,000, Zoroastrians, approximately 25,000, and 9,000 Jewish (the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel).
      All of these groups face some sort of discrimination from the Iranian government. Their languages are not taught in schools, nor their history and the provinces that have large populations of these minority groups are neglected and subject to much harsher government punishments. Balochistan, the province where many Baloch reside, was the site of a terrible massacre referred to as “Bloody Friday of 2022” when locals peacefully protested the rape of a fifteen-year-old by the police chief and stand in solidarity with Women, Life, Freedom, and armed special security shot at them, killing about 94 people, including Khodanoor Lojei.
  The Bahá’í community, in particular, is among the most persecuted religious minorities in Iran. Members of the Bahá’í faith are denied access to education, employment opportunities, and basic civil rights, as the Iranian government does not recognize their religion. As Arash Azizi explains in his book What Iranians Want, “Like other devout Bahá’ís, she was barred from partisan activity by her faith but had spent most of the past twenty years incarcerated solely due to her role as an organizer of Bahá’í affairs in Iran. Fariba had been barred from university education as she belonged to a religion not officially recognized by the regime”[1] Many Bahá’ís have been imprisoned simply for practicing their faith, and their leaders have often been targeted by the authorities. Numerous figures like Fariba Kamal-Abadi have been incarcerated for organizing Bahá’í affairs, reflecting the broader crackdown on religious freedom in the country. The state utilizes its ability to restrict access to resources, such as education in this instance, to control and encroach on the rights of religious minorities.
  For other religious minorities, there is a lack of spaces to practice anything outside of Shi’a Islam, even lacking a mosque for Sunni Muslims in Tehran. Christians and Jews regularly face harassment and regulation, and Iran’s intense anti-Israel stance, paired with the perception that most Jews support Zionism, makes the atmosphere very tense. Noting the rich and diverse history of the Iranian population, "Given the ever-increasing importance of ethnic communities in formation and enhancement of social consensus, scientific investigation of ethnic groups has received greater attention than before. Along the same lines, many experts maintain that national integrity and identity are rooted in ethnic communities and very old ethnic emotions as primitive nationalism." [2]
  This primitive nationalism leads ethnic minorities to face significant challenges. For instance, the Arab and Kurdish populations in Iran have been subjected to economic marginalization and cultural repression. “The integration of Iran’s diverse peoples was carried out by coercive measures, but also the prominent use of the Persian language in state education, administration, and the media.” [3] These communities are often deprived of the ability to celebrate their language and heritage openly, and political activists from these groups frequently face imprisonment or worse. The women-led protests that have emerged in recent years, such as the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, reflect a broader intersectional struggle. Women from minority backgrounds are at the forefront of these efforts, highlighting how their oppression is intersectional and thus compounded.
  Iran’s minorities continually fight for a future where their cultural and religious identities are respected and protected, free from the discrimination and violence that has defined their experience under the current regime.
  
  an example of artistic voices amplifying shifting cultural dynamics of power and privilege, particularly women of the diaspora who, by shedding light on their experiences through visual media, can engage with people of all different backgrounds. 
  Parallel Lives: Women of the Iranian Diaspora by Rose Arts Museum.
  
  
  For a song that mentions the struggles of different ethnic minorities in Iran, check out Jang Zadeh by Mohsen Chavoshi. This song details the emotions and residual aftereffects of the Iran-Iraq war on the Iranian people. 
  
  
  [1] Azizi, Arash. "Yes, I Am a Woman: The Fight for Women’s Rights." In “What Iranians Want”
  London: Oneworld Publications, 2024.
  [2]Ahmady, K. (2022). A Peace-Oriented Investigation of the Ethnic Identity Challenge in Iran (A Study of Five Iranian Ethnic Groups with the GT Method).  International Journal of Kurdish Studies 7 (1), 1-40, https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.1039049
  [3] Farangis Ghaderi (2023). “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi and the Historical Erasure of Kurds.” International
  Journal of Middle East Studies 55, 718–723. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002074382300137X
  - E.E. & K.C.