A must-read for understanding Iran's fight for freedom, an enigma to most in the West.

Required reading!
This book is a brilliantly researched and accessible dive into the history of political movements in Iran, specifically focusing on the brave women who have repeatedly risen up against the government. It's utterly fascinating, emotionally charged, and thought-provoking.

Azizi takes you beyond the Western media headlines, offering a comprehensive look at Iran's people, their struggles, and their unwavering fight for equality and freedom.

Despite the often harrowing stories, the book is also brimming with hope. It showcases the incredible resilience and courage of the Iranian people, particularly the women who continue to stand up for their rights despite facing immense challenges. It really made me check my own privilege.

A highly recommended read!

This was a whistle stop tour of Iranian protest movements, from the revolution in the late 70s, all the way up to the more recent 2022/2023 protests. Not knowing much about this topic beyond what I've caught in the news, this was incredibly informative and managed to present the information in a concise, engaging way. The subject matter is heavy and the accounts shared of the people who lost their lives, both ardent revolutionary figureheads and ordinary people just trying to go about their lives, are incredibly moving. A lot of information is packed into this short book, so it probably serves well as an introductory diving board for further exploration, however it didn't feel rushed or lacking in depth.

What Iranians Want provides a comprehensive account of the many protest movements against the Iranian government. Taking its starting point the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and the anti-hijab protests it sparked, it examines the decades of campaigns by feminists. There are chapters on workers, environmentalists, media and culture and insights into the sometimes surprising positions of the regime on foreign policy and the protests against them.

What Iranians Want is an accessible and concise read. The stories are inspiring, both on an individual level and in showing the breadth and depth of opposition (I was particularly moved by the women who came together to celebrate International Women’s Day inside prison).

As someone who doesn’t know too much about Iran, I at times felt I would have liked less detail and more scene-setting (call me superficial, but more of a story). For example, Azizi uses short-hand terms such as reformist and hardline to describe political figures, without expanding on what they mean in this context.

I was also hoping for more analysis. How are the Iranian people going to move from protest to political change? The various groups each have their own demands, beyond the call “Women, life, freedom”. How will they work together (or not)?

I think What Iranians Want would be most useful for people who are already familiar with Iranian politics and society, who want the granular detail of the history of the different movements and their impact today.

This is a chronicle of profoundly upsetting events told in engaging and inspiring language.
I was either in tears or on the verge of it most of the way through.

As someone who first heard of Mahsa Amini's murder from a Turkish author's Instagram and has heard very little coverage of the Iranian protests on the British news, I was immediately attracted to a book that promised to crystallise what the movement is pursuing and how it's getting on.

I was not expecting this book's impressive sweep of history and the many stories of activists from before 1979 up to the present. Nor the education on the Baháʼí faith and the plight of Afghan refugees (which only made me more ashamed of the British system as it's barely better) that makes this book more well-rounded and gives it a good claim to be looking at Iran in total.

However, a book can only be a snapshot of current affairs. This one, according to the epilogue, was written in July 2023. Reading it as an ARC in December 2023, the section on Iran's attitude to Israel–Palestine already feels out-of-date/incomplete as there is no record of the reaction to what Wikipedia is calling the "2023 Israel–Hamas war".

I'd recommend reading this book to understand how Iran got to the point that one Mahsa Amini's murder sparked a rebellion and why this time it might actually succeed. But I suspect the reread value won't be great.