Iranian Teachers Begin Persian New Year With Protests

Iranian teachers held protest rallies in several cities on March 28 to draw attention to their low salaries and poor livelihood conditions.

Teachers took to the streets of Tabriz, Bojnord, Zanjan, Malayer, Ardabil, Kermanshah and Hamadan as schools remained closed during the holiday period marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

There were conflicting reports on whether teachers had received their salaries for February/March.

While the Minister of Education and Iranian banking authorities claimed that all the salaries were paid, Tasnim news agency reported that many teachers had not yet received the full payments.

In a statement published ahead of Nowrouz on March 21, the Coordinating Council of Teachers' Syndicates emphasized its right to protest and announced that it would continue to demand better working conditions.

The council also announced plans to create a database to document incidents of harassment against teachers and students.

Teachers have taken to the streets across Iran in recent years to demand better pay and working conditions. In response, the authorities have summoned, detained and imprisoned demonstrators and activists.

Declining living standards, wage arrears and a lack of welfare support triggered unrest in the summer of 2022, and the September death of a young woman while in police custody breathed new life into protests.

The authorities have cracked down hard on the women-led protest movement, killing more than 520 people and unlawfully detaining over 20,000, activists say.

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences to protesters, including capital punishment.