Iran has a long history of protests. However, little has changed following decades of anti-government demonstrations over the economy's sluggishness and the impact of Western sanctions.
As the latest uprising enters its fourth week, many are determined that this time things are different.
Leading the biggest challenge to the country’s leadership in years are women and girls on the streets and online.
"Death to the dictator," they chant in droves.
These displays of rebellion against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi are historically rare and cannot be underestimated.
In unprecedented scenes for the country, women have been burning hijabs and hacking off their hair. Hair is seen as sign of beauty that is decreed to be hidden in Iran and it has become a poignant symbol of protest.
"It's about a refusal to comply any longer with laws of the state that are against women's rights and their ability to have choice over their bodily autonomy," Narges Bajoghli, Professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University told RTÉ News.
Not only are women forced to cover their hair with a headscarf, females must seek permission for employment, marriage and divorce. Women are also forbidden from watching men’s sports in stadiums.
Schoolgirls have also been joining the movement for change and have been seen shouting profanities at the Islamic Republic’s leaders.
Pupils at one school hit headlines for heckling a member of Iran’s feared paramilitary Basij force, while students in Tehran chanted "get lost" as President Raisi when he visited the university’s campus on Saturday.
"This is not a protest anymore. This is the start of a revolution," chanted a group of students at Mashhad University.
What makes this time unlike any other anti-government movements, is that a united force of Iranian women and men from different geographical and cultural backgrounds are calling for a separation between church and state.
"It is about the state's enforcement of religion on you. It’s about choice. So, if anyone can relate… It will be Irish people, especially Irish women," said 'Sara’, who, like many Iranians abroad, does not want to give her real name when speaking out against the regime for fear of retribution.
What is known is Iran’s "morality police" have a tight grip on the female population. The group place women and girls under surveillance to make sure they are dressed appropriately.
Along with covering their hair, women are also forbidden from wearing coats that do not reach below the knee and tight trousers.
The punishment for being seen in public without a headscarf includes arrest, a prison sentence, flogging or a fine.
Amnesty International has reported that there are countless stories of the morality police slapping women across the face, beating them with batons and throwing them into police vans because of the way they are dressed.