Netil Radio Weekly
#057
Words
Hello and welcome back,
In Iran, young women are rebelling against the regime, while young men flee across the border in russia.
The fall of dictatorships cannot be predicted, but they always happen after an unforeseen event. In Iran, the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman was killed by the moral police three weeks ago. Since then, dozens and maybe hundreds of people have died in protests, and the anger of the young generation is spreading like wildfire.
The moment when the dictatorship reaches into the lives and future of the young generation, it finds itself on the verge of collapse, because it also angers its parents. They bowed before the violence of power long ago, but they often did so in the name of a better future for their children. When they discover that their sacrifice is useless and that the power wants to break the young generation, they start to rebel. It happened in my country for example when the regime was beating students in 1989.
For the first time in history, the Iranian regime is facing a significant challenge because it knows that many of its police officers sympathise with the protesters. They have mothers, they have sisters and daughters. An estimated million young men fled russia before the mobilisation, and all of them have parents and relatives. Their escape is also a form of protest but seems like Iranian women are braver than russian men.
Today, young Iranian women are fighting against a future in which the Iranian regime continues to control their bodies. But their anger also stems from Iran's corruption, when a class of those who serve the government drive expensive European cars and their wives are not veiled in luxury restaurants in Tehran. The moral police cannot reach them.
The average age of those detained by police during the protests (many are already dead) is 15, and the police chief says they are "victims" of social media. Iran's leaders are old school, they don't use social media and blame the protests on "foreign enemies". But the protests are supported by local celebrities, actresses and football players, followed by millions of young people on social networks, who stood up for the young women.
So far it reminds us of every successful revolution, but the difference is that the protests have no leaders. Dictatorships have learned their lesson and anyone who could become a political leader is immediately arrested or killed. That is why Boris Nemtsov was murdered in russia and that is why Alexei Navalny is in prison.
This is also one of the reasons why the success of mass protests is decreasing in the world. Researchers at Harvard University have mapped the success of protests since the 1930s, and according to them, the peak was at the beginning of our century, when two out of three mass protests achieved systemic regime changes.
But around 2010, the ratio reversed and although the protests were increasing, there were significantly fewer successes. In 2020, only one in six was already successful. Experts are still struggling to determine the causes, but at least they agree that social networks are one of them. Although they enable the quick mobilization of the crowd, they simultaneously weaken its ability to last for a longer period of time. In the past, demonstrations were preceded by years of building reform movements that were preparing for regime change.
However, researchers observed one interesting phenomenon: the more women are at the forefront of protests, the greater the chance of regime change. Women are better able to overcome the obstacle that is the polarisation of society (it often creates an internal barrier during protests between those who support them and those who criticise them). Furthermore, even the most brutal regimes are reluctant to use brutal violence against women.
In Iran, the regime has not yet fallen and may hold on for a long time, but despite this, a social revolution is taking place there. With women at the head and with the support of many men.
Russian and Iranian dictatorships have a lot in common, they are brutal regimes led by old men who despise women. But while in Russia women remain silent and young men flee the regime abroad, in Iran young women take to the streets and risk their lives. The fall of dictatorships is unpredictable, but if I had the chance to bet on the future of freedom and democracy, I would bet on women.
Every revolution has a soundtrack. You can listen to the entire Sonic Liberation - In solidarity with Iran, while you process all the above.
Thank you for reading and stay connected
Coming Up
✧ Mark Gill on guest duties for Big Leg’s Bits today 1-3pm ✧ Luke Blunton is joining soft touch with mixed bag of goodies ranging from minimal to left-field tech house today 5-7pm ✧ Two Professional DJs Kalvin & Peru bringing wobbly rhythms, squishy techno and spiky electro today 7-9pm ✧ Tem selects songs from across the world to soundtrack the latest 'once-in-a-lifetime' crisis we're living through. Freedom of Groovement - Sunday 12-2pm ✧ Xander on guest duties for Hazy B - Tuesday 3-5pm ✧ RAUCAAU will join ex.sses on Tuesday 9-10pm ✧ Kev will be back with all new bits from the shelves of Jelly Records - Wednesday 1-3pm ✧
Full schedule here
Listen Back
✧ princess republic covered Magical Real the other day ✧ Zee Hammer’s first regular shot ✧ Netil Market’s best barber Pierre-A D knows what to do on Monday ✧ Gigi Williams did small live jam for Naffi’s Lunchtimes ✧ a balm for the soul - Pollenne ✧ The Gun’s own Nick Stephens, Teenage Jeans and secret guest Cherrystones ✧ Shriya joined Mandle in latest Co-Select show ✧ Platforms took over of the whole day program with plenty new kids on the block ✧ News From Nowhere sorted Tropical Problems ✧ Amerza in charge of JAS ✧ Studio Batsumi’s amazing takeover of Hidden Sounds show ✧ Fliss Mayo on guest duties for Lu.Re ✧ Mermaids Chunky’s interactive HelloMotto ✧ Hannah Grace is talking about pain & pleasure in latest IN SEASON ✧
New Music
Music tips from our residents
Avsluta / Introspective Electronics - 2nd Thursday of the month 1-3pm
✧ Voice Actor - Sent From My Telphone ✧ Stone - Earth FF ✧ Freda - MSH010 ✧
Two Professional DJs - Guests of Snorkelling show - bi-monthly on 2nd Friday of the month 7-9pm
✧ LCY – LCY ✧ Production Unit Xero – Nexus Points ✧ Kincaid – STRM ✧
Prague-London Connexion Czech-In
By Freddie Hudson / PAIJATA - 2nd Wednesday of the month 5-7pm
There's a new Genot Centre album from Amselysen - clips are online and it looks like a doozy, one of the best yet on the outstanding label according to label head Ondrej.
Not Czech but Slovak, Nina Pixel's Ancestral Archaeology is unveiled very soon. Slovak folklore meets techno, but make it good, not lax, dry, fruitless sampling. a reimagining of the world, queerifying the past.
Not Czech but Polish, I'm FLOORED by this new album Cycles on Outlines' sub-label and Turkish producer DJ Strawberry. I was torn about sharing it around because I want that exclusivity but I killed that gross lil demon telling me such advice, get a load of this Rashad-Meets-Barker style madness....
Vision of 1994 (is Czech) releases a new album on Harmless Youth (also Czech). It's sample heavy but unique. I love Wildt - it's a track from the Ghania meets Pharoah Sanders' album from way back which I fell back in love with this summer, and it shares the name with my fave summer Sunday hang out spot here in Prague, and the vibe is spot on.
Extending my brief now to Berlin, dear friends are releasing this exceptionally reworked field recording album, very worth attention, both artist and label.
That’s all for this week, stay tuned
NR team
London’s community voice, broadcast live from a converted shipping container atop of Netil Market - project facilitated and supported by Eat Work Art