Nineteenth Day of Nationwide Protests by Nurses: Attack by Khamenei’s Forces and Arrest of Several Nurses

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi: The protests by compassionate nurses reflect the anger of the vast majority of the Iranian people against the regime. Supporting them is a national and moral duty.
On Wednesday, August 21, nurses across the country staged protests for the nineteenth day in Tehran and various cities, including Mashhad, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Rasht, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Dehdasht, Jahrom, Abadan, Marivan, and others. The protests were in response to the dire economic conditions, unbearable work pressure, and the theft of their wages.
In Tehran, nurses gathered in front of the Ministry of Health; in Ahvaz, in front of Jundishapur University; in Kermanshah, in front of the University of Medical Sciences; and in Marivan, in front of Fajr Hospital. Nurses in Rasht held a protest march in the streets. In Tabriz, emergency medical experts and nurses also held a gathering.
On Tuesday, August 20, nurses held protests in various cities, including hospitals in Mashhad, Neyshabur, Hamedan, Abadan, and Jahrom. In Mashhad, nurses from Shariati, Avicenna, Imam Reza, and Hashemi Nejad hospitals protested, and midwives joined them. Suppressive forces blocked the routes to Imam Reza Hospital and stationed many agents at the protest site. Nurses took alternative routes to reach the front of the hospital. There, the suppressive forces attacked the protesting nurses, but the nurses resisted them.
On Monday, August 19, nurses in Mashhad staged protests at 12 hospitals, including Imam Reza, Taleghani, Akbar, Velayat, Umm al-Banin, Khatam al-Anbiya (Eye Specialist), Montaseriyeh, Emdaad, Shariati, Ebn-e Sina, Dr. Sheikh, and Hashemi Nejad hospitals. Several pre-hospital emergency nurses from the University of Medical Sciences also joined the strike. In Arak, nurses protested at Amir al-Mu’minin, Vali Asr, Khansari, and Amir Kabir hospitals. The suppressive SSF (State Security Force) attacked the protesters at Amir Kabir Hospital, but the nurses resisted. According to IRNA on August 19: “In Arak, on August 19, the Deputy of Culture and Social Affairs of the Markazi Province’s SSF reported the arrest of two people in the nurses’ protest… Cases were filed against them and handed over to the judiciary.”
Mandatory overtime, 12-hour shifts, and extremely low wages have pushed nurses below the poverty line, depriving them of even a minimal standard of living. The regime violates its own agreements and contracts with the nurses, refusing to implement service pricing regulations. According to Fereydoun Moradi, a member of the High Council of the Nursing System, 150 to 200 nurses migrate each month.
During their protests, the nurses chanted slogans such as: “Only in the streets can we secure our rights,” “Our power lies in our unity, the result of our hard work,” “Nurse, shout for your rights, cry out for your rights,” “All we’ve heard are promises, we’ve seen no results,” “Costs are in dollars, our wages are in rials,” “Enough promises, our tables are empty,” “We fought COVID, we received no support,” “From Shiraz to Mashhad, strike, strike,” “A nurse may die but will not accept humiliation,” “We don’t want promises, we want our rights,” “Reduce one embezzlement, and our rights will be paid,” “To change tomorrow, we must unite today,” “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, we are all together,” “Don’t think it’s just for one day, our strike is every day.”
Last week, Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, Secretary-General of the Nursing House, said: “In the 100-year history of modern nursing in the country, this is the first time a protest in the form of ‘work stoppage’ has occurred. The worst job nurses do is drive for Snapp, which earns twice as much as nursing” (Rooidad24 website, August 14). The same person told the “Nursing House” website on August 19: “The Ministry of Health is part of the problem; the protesting nurses have bypassed nursing organizations. They don’t listen to us, the Nursing System, or the Nursing Deputy of the Ministry of Health. A group that is part of the problem cannot represent the nurses’ demands in the Supreme National Security Council.” Abbas Abadi, Deputy Minister of Health, said: “We are facing serious challenges in the field of nursing, reaching the boiling point of crisis” (Jamaran website, August 20).
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, praised the hardworking and compassionate nurses, stating that by continuing their protests and resisting the attacks of the suppressive forces, they reflect the anger of the overwhelming majority of the people, workers, and toilers against the regime. She added that supporting the nurses who serve the Iranian people day and night is a national, moral, and human duty.
Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that while nurses endure the harshest conditions, the nation’s wealth and the people’s assets are being looted by the ruling criminal gangs or squandered on suppression, terrorism, and warmongering projects aimed at preserving the vile system of the mullahs. The establishment of democracy and popular sovereignty is the only way to end the oppression and suffering endured by the people of Iran.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
21 August 2024