A year later, the protests appear to have died out while the State crackdown continues. Security forces continue to be deployed in several cities, including in Tehran and the Kurdish hometown of Amini. Authorities have installed surveillance cameras around Tehran to identify protesters. Ahead of the anniversary, the regime made preemptive arrests of activists. Human rights campaigners, feminists and students were arrested, including Amini’s father, uncle and lawyer. Many family members of those who were killed in the protests were either summoned to court or detained. This renewed crackdown indicates that the Iranian authorities are still concerned by the social and political impact of Amini’s death and the persistence of non-violent civil resistance in Iran.

The widespread crackdown on potential dissenters has been followed by a huge purge in universities. Many academicians in Iran are already talking about the “second cultural revolution”, a reminder of the closure of universities in Iran from 1981 to 1983, during which the professors who refused to support the revolution’s Islamist ideology were expelled. In the past year, many students and professors in Iranian universities have voiced solidarity with protesters around Iran. Many classes were cancelled without prior notice by the authorities, followed by the removal and suspension of students and professors. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij forces have enabled these measures by further securitising Iranian society and suspending civil liberties.

On the economic front, high inflation of 60% has turned many young Iranians restless and ready to leave the country. In a country where more than two-thirds of its 85 million people are under the age of 30, the growing frustration and anger among the youth cannot be ignored.

In a thoughtless attempt to curb the hijab protests, the government recently came up with the Hijab and Chastity Bill, which would impose a series of new punishments on women if they fail to wear headscarves in public. In the past year, many Iranian women have been openly challenging the dress code laws. This act of civil disobedience intensified after the death of Mahsa Amini and the urban unrest. Some Iranian celebrities, including athletes and actresses, joined the disobedience movement and published their photos without the hijab. As per the new Bill, wearing an improper hijab is a crime punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Despite the scattered islands of civil resistance, the Iranian security apparatus has held firm. The Supreme Leader of the Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, is now 84 years old and not in the best of health. A key response of the regime to its domestic problems has been to improve military cooperation with Russia and economic relations with China. Iran decided to support Russia in its war against Ukraine by providing drones and ballistic missiles to extract a reciprocal commitment from Russia to support Iran in the international arena.

The regime continues to blame the turmoil in the Baluch and Kurdish regions on foreign interference. The hardline turn is pushing the regime into an ever more dangerous game. But, for now, it has retained the upper hand in its domestic challenges because of the lack of coordination among the civic actors and the repressive measures undertaken by the security establishment. That said, one year after Mahsa Amini’s death, the Iranian regime has not been able to address the mounting anger of the Iranian youth and women, or the country’s economic woes.

Ramin Jahanbegloo, an Iranian philosopher, is director, Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Peace Studies, Jindal Global Law School. The views expressed are personal