Systems that ignore changes doomed to failure: Iranian sociologist

In reaction to the recent protests and deadly riots in Iran following the death of a young woman in police custody, Emad Afrough told the Iranian Sharq newspaper that, “A system that does not pay attention to changes and does not pay attention to social power and civil power and their demands… is doomed to failure.

A country that is not flexible, a country that is closed in time and space and does not move forward with time, will not have a good future.”

He slammed certain media outlets in Iran, including the state-run IRIB, for “turning their back on the realities in society” and acting “as if no one has gone to the streets and the police committed no wrongdoings” during the unrest.

Afrough added the IRIB officials put a magnifying glass in their coverage of similar incidents in the US, Europe and other parts of the world.

The top analyst said that the IRIB has to be held accountable for distorting the facts about social dissatisfaction in Iran by blaming foreigners for the incidents.

Afrough pointed out that many of the protesters are frustrated with structural issues such as political exclusion as well as unemployment, inflation, sanctions, and lack of hope for the future.

He regretted that the yawning gap between officials and the younger generations caused what he termed “the revolt of the outcasts” as the latter feels alienated from the society.