All Eyes On Iran

I have been following the news on Iran obsessively for the past few days. The developments have been gripping to say the least. I am so overwhelmed by emotion, it is difficult to keep up with the pace at which things are developing on the ground in Tehran.

There are news and images of young people and women being beaten with clubs. Iranian authorities are doing their best to throw out all foreign press, (NBC, ABC, and BBC have all either been asked to leave or had their offices raided), and block websites such as Twitter and Facebook in an effort to seal off as much information coming out from Iran as possible. It's not working.

Last week we analyzed the role of women in these elections, how candidates were wooing their votes as women make up half the electorate in Iran. But all one had to do really was look at the images pouring out of Tehran to see who composed the crowds: young people and women.

Since the announcement of incumbent President Ahmadinejad as the winner of the elections, all hell as broken loose in Iran. I say that with no exaggeration. It is also not an exaggeration to say that there has not been this kind of widespread dissent seen in the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

I think it is easy to get diverted by who won this election, but it is important to focus on what this election is really about: The passion and vigor with which Iranians have taken to the streets to let their government know that they want progress, democracy, change.

Read the signs that people are holding up in rallies. What we have seen in the past few days coming out of Iran disproves the notion that the people of Iran support the Islamic Regime, and want their repressive laws.

I want to avoid this post of mine from getting overtly political, as hard as that is for me. Instead I will leave you with this video. It touches upon a lot of issues, but mostly it highlights how blogs have given a voice to the youth in Iran, and how young people, and people in general, around the world want the same things.

Enjoy and keep the youth and the women of Iran in your thoughts.

IRAN: A Nation Of Bloggers from ayrakus on Vimeo.