Rockin' Iran's youth?
Is the youth vote in Iran rockin'? With the election on Friday we will get to see. There is a lot at stake for young voters---young people make up over half of Iran's population (!!!!)---but some skeptics claim they are going to take a pass on showing their power at the polls. We shall see.
Right now, under popular outgoing reformist President Mohammad Khatami, Iranian youth gained many of the practical freedoms that we Americans take for granted. Only recently young men can wear their hair long without fear of having it chopped off, house parties can rock on without the religious parliament arriving at the door, and women can go on dates wearing hijabs that let their hair show. These are the liberties that this coming election can put to the test.
Friday's election is a fight between the more traditional religious sector of society as represented by front-runner Hashemi Rafsanjani, and the nation’s modernizing impulses in reformist Mostafa Moin. Rock the Vote like tactics, such as chic young women handing out fliers and guys in brightly colored clothes on bikes with signs, are being used by the candidates to court the youth electorate.
The youth vote is very important to these campaigns as half the country's 67 million people are under 25 and anyone over 15 can vote. Despite the enthusiasm of some, many young voters are protesting the upcoming election because of the establishment appointment of candidates and disillusion with the system. Critics of these abstentions predict that the young population will stay home because they are just plain apathetic and have been distracted by the freedoms they have been given.
Iranian youth have the power. Let's see what they do with it.
-- Posted by Regina Schwartz
Right now, under popular outgoing reformist President Mohammad Khatami, Iranian youth gained many of the practical freedoms that we Americans take for granted. Only recently young men can wear their hair long without fear of having it chopped off, house parties can rock on without the religious parliament arriving at the door, and women can go on dates wearing hijabs that let their hair show. These are the liberties that this coming election can put to the test.
Friday's election is a fight between the more traditional religious sector of society as represented by front-runner Hashemi Rafsanjani, and the nation’s modernizing impulses in reformist Mostafa Moin. Rock the Vote like tactics, such as chic young women handing out fliers and guys in brightly colored clothes on bikes with signs, are being used by the candidates to court the youth electorate.
The youth vote is very important to these campaigns as half the country's 67 million people are under 25 and anyone over 15 can vote. Despite the enthusiasm of some, many young voters are protesting the upcoming election because of the establishment appointment of candidates and disillusion with the system. Critics of these abstentions predict that the young population will stay home because they are just plain apathetic and have been distracted by the freedoms they have been given.
Iranian youth have the power. Let's see what they do with it.
-- Posted by Regina Schwartz
posted by Hans Riemer at 12:10 PM
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