Last week, Iranian regime president Ebrahim Raisi presented the budget bill for the Persian year 1401 (starting in March 2022) to the Majlis (Parliament). And as the reports and figures show, the regime has no intention to address the needs of millions of Iranians from different segments of the society, who have been holding protests and demanding the government to address their needs.
Protesting communities include teachers, farmers, retired government employees, and workers in different industries. The teachers in particular held nationwide protest rallies in the past months, demanding education reform, better wages, removal of discriminatory rules. The Majlis’s response has been a half-baked legislation that only addresses a fraction of their needs.
In recent days, against the regime’s repressive measures, people from all walks of life are returning to the streets to voice their protest and reclaim their rights in the only way they can.
And in these efforts, they have the support of the Resistance Units, the network of MEK activists inside Iran. In their ongoing activities across Iran, the Resistance Units showed their support for teachers and farmers and reiterated that the path to solving the people’s problems is to overthrow the mullahs’ regime.
A poster installed in Tehran by the Resistance Units read: “Hail to freedom-loving teachers and to their bravery. The Iranian people should support teachers. Hail to teachers. Teachers are aware and hate tyrants.”
“We must rise to take back our legitimate rights from the criminal mullahs,” a poster read in Tehran. The Resistance Units are installing such posters in different cities, with messages from Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance movement, and Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
“Rebellious youth will write Iran’s destiny,” another placard in Tehran read, and another held the message: “The only solution is to put an end to the tyrannical regime.”
In Shiraz, the Resistance Units posted a placard that read, “There is no force in the world more powerful than our will to achieve freedom.”
Similar activities were held in several cities, including Tabriz, Isfahan, Rasht, Mashhad, and Zanjan.
In Isfahan, the message of the Resistance Units was: “Teachers! We are ready to support you.”
A Resistance Unit member in Shiraz said, “As a retired employee of the ministry of education in Shiraz, I support the rightful call of teachers. Hail to Maryam Rajavi. The movement [against mullahs] moves forward.”
In Karaj, the Resistance Units called for the release of teachers imprisoned by the regime’s security forces. “Imprisoned teachers must be freed. Teachers are ready to sacrifice their lives and do not accept to live in disgrace,” the placard read.
Another poster in Karaj called on all Iranians called on Iranians to support the teachers in their protests for their rights. “Hail to the freedom-loving teachers. Hard-working teachers must be supported by all walks of life in Iran,” the placard read.
Background:
After months of protests by Iran’s teachers, the Iranian regime finally declared that it will be addressing their demands in a bill passed by the Majlis (parliament). But, as was expected by many, the bill is a half-measure only meant to shut down the voice of protesters without solving any fundamental problems.
On Wednesday, the Majlis passed the “teacher’s ranking” bill, which had been a hot topic of discussion and one of the main demands of millions of teachers who have protested and gone on strike in the past few months.
While the regime has boasted about the bill and its achievements, Iranian teachers are calling out the regime for not addressing their needs.
The Iranian Teachers Coordination Council called the bill deceitful and unacceptable. In a statement, the Council has warned that if the regime does not approve the full ranking plan and does not release the imprisoned teachers, the teachers’ community will resume its protests across the country.
According to the bill, a total of 250 trillion rials will be allocated to around 734,000 teachers across Iran in the coming Persian year, starting in March 2022. But it doesn’t take into account the tens of thousands of tutors who are working on unofficial contracts because the education ministry refuses to hire them despite having passed its test.
The bill also predicates that the budget will only be allocated if the government is able to gather the necessary funds. the government is already facing severe budget deficits and has no clear plans to cover those deficits.