Teacher's Day in Iran | Rasoul Badaghi: Despite the existence of the Islamic Republic, it is not possible to fulfill the demands not only of teachers but also of any group

May 12 is called Teacher's Day in the Iranian calendar, and this year, the special circumstances of the Corona pandemic have caused the protest gatherings of trade union activists to not be as widespread as in previous years. Rasoul Badaghi believes that the Islamic Republic has only protected itself from teacher gatherings and protests by closing schools last year under the pretext of the spread and spread of the Corona pandemic.

This year, coinciding with Teacher's Day, a group of labor activists, teachers, lawyers, social activists, and human rights defenders gathered in front of the Karaj Penitentiary to demand the release of the teacher in Ismail Abdi Prison, as well as imprisoned workers and political prisoners .

At this gathering, Jafar Azimzadeh, a labor activist and former political prisoner, protested the imprisonment of imprisoned teachers and workers in a short speech. Narges Mohammadi, spokesperson for the Center for Human Rights Defenders, also spoke about the right of citizens to assemble and protest, referring to the officers' prevention of public gatherings in recent days.

Rasoul Badaghi, a member of the Iranian Teachers' Union, pointed out that the Islamic Republic only protected itself from teacher gatherings and protests by closing schools last year under the pretext of the spread of the coronavirus, telling VOA: "Instead of making school conditions suitable, they closed schools to save on the budget they don't have, and to further restrict trade union organizations so that they cannot gather, sit-in, or strike."

According to this educator union activist, in the past year, "due to school closures , teachers were forced to compensate for the quality of in-person teaching with more hours via mobile phones or the facilities available to them. Many were psychologically affected, depression came to them, and this school closure placed a huge cost on teachers."

Mr. Badaqi continued: "The fulfillment of the demands is not only possible for teachers, but also for any segment of society under the Islamic Republic; the government has reached a dead end and has no budget, nor does it want to come down from the ego, power, and empty hegemony it imagines for itself."

This member of the Iranian Teachers' Association told VOA: "The only solution for the country is either a 90 percent retreat of the Islamic Republic or a national and nationwide movement that can force the government to retreat... The demands of the teachers on Teacher's Day and in front of the parliament will be the release of imprisoned teachers, imprisoned workers, and civil prisoners, and they will protest the atmosphere of repression, terror, and this atmosphere of plundering the country."

According to available information, on May 12, 1961, Iranian teachers, led by Mohammad Derakhshesh, the head of the Iranian Teachers Association, launched a nationwide protest and strike to demand their rights. The protests turned violent in front of the parliament building, resulting in the death of Abolhassan Khanali, a philosophy and Arabic language teacher, who was shot by a police officer.

After this incident and the arrest of Mohammad Derakhshesh , these protests took on a different color and it did not take long for Jafar Sharif Emami, the Speaker of the Senate, to resign from his position. After Sharif Emami's resignation and Mohammad Derakhshesh's release from prison, on May 8, teachers gathered at the Mehregan Club of the Iranian Teachers' Association and passed a resolution declaring May 12 as Teacher's Day in honor of their successful strike and in honor of Dr. Khanali.

But it didn't take long for this day to be forgotten after two years of not being officially recorded in the Iranian calendar, until in 1979, teachers tried to revive Teacher's Day, which coincided with the assassination of Ayatollah Motahari and his death on May 11. The government of the time, with a one-day delay, declared May 12 as Motahari's martyrdom day and Teacher's Day, and thus Teacher's Day was established in Iran.

Source: Voice of America