“Happiness, Welfare, and Freedom Are Our Inalienable Rights”
Kermanshah
On October 5th (13th of Mehr), retirees affiliated with various pension funds held an extensive protest gathering in front of the provincial governor’s office in Kermanshah to pursue their demands and to mark World Teachers’ Day. The presence of women at the rally was particularly notable.
The protest had been called by various advocacy and professional organizations, including:
- The Social Security Retirees’ Advocacy Group of Kermanshah,
- The Professional Association of Active and Retired Educators of Kermanshah,
- The Professional Association of Educators in Eslamabad-e Gharb,
- The Professional Association of Educators in Harsin,
- Health, Telecommunication, and other sectors’ advocates for justice.
During the gathering, the participants collectively sang the iconic protest anthem “Yar-e Dabestani-e Man” (“My Elementary School Friend”). One of the speakers honored World Teachers’ Day and congratulated all active and retired educators, while also addressing rising costs of living, hardships faced by teachers, inequality in the education system, and the plight of students deprived of access to education. The crowd responded with continuous applause and chanted slogans such as:
In addition to Kermanshah, protests by Social Security retirees also took place in Ahvaz, Shush, and Tehran.
Ahvaz:
In Ahvaz, retirees chanted:
- “Our pain is your pain, people join us!”
- “High prices and inflation are crushing people’s backs”
- “They looted Iran, they ruined our lives”
- “No threats, no prisons, no executions can stop us”
- “Jailed workers must be freed!”
- “Jailed teachers must be freed!”
- “Political prisoners must be freed!”
- “Jailed protesters must be freed!”
Shush:
In Shush, retirees from surrounding towns including Karkheh and Haft Tappeh gathered and shouted:
- “Retiree, speak out! Shout for your rights!”
- “High prices and inflation are breaking people’s backs”
- “We won’t rest until we get our rights!”
- “Our rights are only won in the streets!”
- “‘Hussein, Hussein’ is their slogan, but theft and looting is their action!”
Tehran:
In Tehran, Social Security retirees, retired educators, and telecommunications retirees gathered with slogans such as:
- “Unity, unity against poverty and corruption!”
They also voiced demands for the release of Sharifeh Mohammadi, a worker sentenced to death, and Masoud Farhikhteh, a jailed teacher.
Isfahan:
Simultaneously, steel retirees—like in previous weeks—gathered once again in Isfahan. Their protest took place on Ayeneh Khaneh Boulevard in front of the Ministry of Labor office. They raised their voices in protest against the transfer of the Steel Pension Fund to the National Pension Fund and denounced the ruling class for plundering. Their slogans included:
- “Steelworker, speak out! Shout for your rights!”
- “Our rights are only won in the streets!”
- “They emptied the fund, they ruined our lives!”