Iran's protests reflect anger with decades of inequality

+ Russia-led referendums in Ukraine mask local opinion towards Russia US Edition - Today's top story: Unrest across Iran continues under state's extreme gender apartheid [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 September 2022 [The Conversation]( The death of a 22-year-old Iranian women in the hands of the state’s “morality police” has reignited protests against what one Middle East scholar has called “gender apartheid.” Haidar Khezri, who teaches Middle Eastern literatures and cultures, likens today’s government-sanctioned discrimination against women in Iran to the former racist apartheid regime in South Africa. With the exception of bland condemnations, Khezri writes, “the [discrimination against women in Iran is often overlooked]( while the world focuses on limiting the country’s nuclear capabilities.” At the same time, the current protests offer a “glimmer of hope” to many Iranians who have long rebelled against government restrictions, writes Pardis Mahdavi. For the past two decades, Mahdavi has studied gender and sexual politics in Iran since the 1979 revolution. Through her on-the-ground ethnographic fieldwork, she has seen firsthand [people rising up against the brutality in both urban and rural areas](. The resisters are demanding “a more democratic regime focused on solving issues like unemployment and infrastructure challenges rather than on policing their bodies,” she writes. Also in this week’s politics news: - [The geopolitics of energy in Europe heat up]( - [Tactical nuclear weapons – what are they?]( - [Why the Supreme Court is unlike others in recent decades]( Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor In this Sept. 21, 2022, photo, Iranian demonstrators gather along a street in Tehran. AFP via Getty Images [Unrest across Iran continues under state’s extreme gender apartheid]( Haidar Khezri, University of Central Florida Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been forced to accept second-class citizenship, as Shiite religious leaders control most aspects of women’s lives. A woman votes in the controversial referendum in Donetsk, Ukraine on Sept. 27, 2022. Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images [Russia plans to annex parts of Eastern Ukraine – an Eastern European expert explains 3 key things to know about the regions at stake]( Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida While some parts of eastern Ukraine have been under partial Russian control since 2014, other sections continue to fight back. Most residents overall have said they don’t want to be part of Russia. The new Baltic Pipe natural gas pipeline connects Norwegian natural gas fields in the North Sea with Denmark and Poland, offering an alternative to Russian gas. Sean Gallup/Getty Images [Why is Russia sending oil and gas workers to fight in Ukraine? It may signal more energy cutoffs ahead]( Amy Myers Jaffe, Tufts University Russian President Vladimir Putin has not hesitated to use energy as a weapon. An expert on global energy markets analyzes what could come next. [Iranian women have been rebelling against restrictions since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 – with renewed hope that protests this time will end differently]( Pardis Mahdavi, The University of Montana A scholar of Iranian politics explains how Iranians have organized resistance movements for the past several decades while risking arrest and public flogging. [White nationalism is a political ideology that mainstreams racist conspiracy theories]( Sara Kamali, University of California San Diego President Biden denounces white nationalism as once-democratic countries around the world are threatened by increasing political support for this ideology. [What are tactical nuclear weapons? An international security expert explains and assesses what they mean for the war in Ukraine]( Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Tactical nuclear weapons were designed to be used on the battlefield rather than for strategic defense, but that doesn’t mean there’s a plausible case for using them. [A seismic change has taken place at the Supreme Court – but it’s not clear if the shift is about principle or party]( Morgan Marietta, UMass Lowell Major Supreme Court decisions and reversals last term are leaving some people, including this scholar on constitutional politics, wondering – what’s going on with the court? - [US and Russia engage in a digital battle for hearts and minds]( Jennifer Grygiel, Syracuse University Russian government media are frequently criticized as being blatant propaganda. How do US government media measure up? - [Indigenous defenders stand between illegal roads and survival of the Amazon rainforest – elections in Brazil and Peru could be a turning point]( David S. Salisbury, University of Richmond Illegal roads have brought deforestation, fire and other environmental damage to the Amazon. Indigenous territory in many areas has blocked them. - [Which wetlands should receive federal protection? The Supreme Court revisits a question it has struggled in the past to answer]( Albert C. Lin, University of California, Davis The Supreme Court opens its 2022-2023 session with a high-profile case that has major implications for both wildlife and landowners. - [Brazil’s election goes beyond a battle between left and right – democracy is also on the ballot]( Jeffrey W. Rubin, Boston University; Rafael R. Ioris, University of Denver Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is ahead in the polls. But will his authoritarian rival, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, accept the result if he loses? - [UN slavery estimate raises question: Are 50 million people really enslaved today?]( Monti Datta, University of Richmond Global estimates of modern-day slavery by the United Nations reveal improving methods for calculating the data. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](