A protester for women’s equality in Tehran. As we approach the June 2013 Iranian presidential election, the real frontrunners of the 2009 election, as well as many young activists, remain in prison. But several defining issues continue to fuel the grassroots… Read moreWhither Iran’s democratic opposition?
by Frieda Afary, Iranian Progressives in Translation
As we approach the June 2013 Iranian presidential election, the real front-runners of the 2009 election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, as well as Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard—all of whom came to be known as the leaders of the reformist Green movement—continue to languish under house arrest. Many young opposition activists, feminists, and ethnic activists who participated in protests against election fraud in 2009, or any activities deemed "seditious" by the regime, are also in prison.
Although the recent disqualification of two candidates, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, from the election, is very significant and further reveals the intense power struggles within the regime, more significant are the defining issues which continue to fuel the grassroots discontent inside Iran. These issues are the following:
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