‘Iran is rising’: Elderly woman’s protest video goes viral, says ‘not afraid… have been dead for 47 years’

A video of an elderly woman’s unique protest in Iran has gone viral on social media as the country erupts in demonstrations against the dwindling economy.

In the video, the woman can be seen with a bloodied mouth, chanting, “I’m not afraid. I’ve been dead for 47 years.” The Islamic Republic took over Iran 47 years ago.

I’m not afraid. I’ve been dead for 47 years this is the voice of a woman in Iran who is fed up with the Islamic republic.
47 years ago, the Islamic Republic took our rights and turned a nation into hostages.
Today people have nothing left to lose, they rise.
Iran is rising. pic.twitter.com/GAawmynE0C

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 8, 2026

The video was shared by Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, who said, “This is the voice of a woman in Iran who is fed up with the Islamic Republic. 47 years ago, the Islamic Republic took our rights and turned a nation into hostages. Today people have nothing left to lose, they rise. Iran is rising.”

Iran reported a nationwide internet blackout late on Thursday after protests over the country’s economic downfall became widespread as more people gathered on the streets.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s late Shah toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, called in a video post on X on Wednesday for more protests.

Quick Reads

View All

As Trump sours US-Canada ties, Carney visits China to mend ties with Xi

Trump announces 25% tariff on Iran’s trading partners. How India may be affected

Social media posts showed demonstrators chanting pro-Pahlavi slogans in several Iranian cities. The current protests, the biggest wave of dissent in three years, began last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar with shopkeepers condemning the rial currency’s free fall.

Unrest has since spread nationwide amid deepening distress over economic privations arising from rocketing inflation driven by mismanagement and Western sanctions, and curbs on political and social freedoms.

Amid all this, the regime in Iran is under immense international pressure, with US President Donald Trump threatening the government to come to the aid of protesters if security forces fire on them.