Why did Iranians rise up in 2022 and 2023?

On 16 September 2022, a revolution started in Iran. Thousands of women removed their state-imposed hijab and took to the streets to demand freedom and equality. In December, a three-day strike across the nation brought business to a grinding halt. Now, after forty years of oppressive rule, the regime of the Islamic Republic may be on its last legs.

As the world anxiously anticipates what will happen next, Arash Azizi uncovers the struggles and sacrifices behind the headlines. He shows us what a new Iran could look like, through the eyes of the activists, dreamers and martyrs fighting for it. This is a democratic nation where women can get any job they like, workers are paid fair wages and young people can dance the night away. For now, these are only hopes. But among ordinary Iranians there is an unprecedented hunger for change. Whatever the outcome of this revolution, the new Iran will be built by them, and the call of 'Women, Life, Freedom' will echo through the streets long after these risings end.