Iran’s feminist uprising poses a stark challenge to the Islamic regime that has held power since 1979. Since September the world media has been awash in images of men and women demonstrating in the streets. Indeed, the protesters’ opponents have more than power on their side; they have significant numbers, too. Most of the surveys that can be considered reliable show a slow liberalization of Iranian attitudes toward the imposition of religious values on society. But they also show the persistence of a significant minority—between 10% and 20% of the population—that favors a religious government, including the mandatory hijab.

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