Colorado man continues protest of Iranian government that began before recent events

For nearly one month, women and girls in Iran have been protesting government oppression, specifically the headscarf mandate for women. The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested by Iran's morality police for not wearing her headscarf properly. 

The Iranian government says she died of a heart attack, but many eyewitnesses claim she was beaten. 

In Denver, a man who wants to be known only as Rowshan began his one-man protest against the Iranian government and its treatment of women one year earlier. 

He, like many Iranians, knows all too well the pain of oppression, so he decided to spend his weekends demonstrating alone in front of the state Capitol. 

"Today is 63 weeks. Friday, Saturday, Sunday I'm here," he said. 

While his public protest started just over a year ago, he was speaking out long before that. 

In 1978, Rowshan was a first-year college student in Denver studying political economics and demonstrating in his spare time. 

"I was putting the literature table in the Metropolitan State College lunchroom every Wednesday. I opposed the Ayatollah regime," said Rowshan. 

Just one year later in 1979, Rowshan's worst nightmare became reality. He watched as the Shah was driven out of Iran and the nation became an Islamic Republic led by Ayatollah Khomeini.  

He was stuck in Denver, and while he was sad, he knew things were going to be much worse for the women he loved that he left behind. Just months later he learned how right his suspicions were.  

"They're going to enforce to put the cover on every woman in Iran, and one of those women was my sister and she was executed (for protesting the covering mandate)," said Rowshan. 

Now 43 years later, women in Iran and in Colorado are once again fighting the same battle against the Iranian regime he and his sister fought decades ago. He says this uprising feels different. 

"The spring of the revolution is coming with the young generation," he said. 

So, once again he watches from the Rocky Mountains as the fate of his homeland hangs in the balance. He is hopeful soon he will be able to return to his homeland once again, and he has one piece of advice for people who want to protect their rights across the globe. 

"They need to come to the street and shout it," he said. 

Rowshan says he will continue to demonstrate in front of the capital every weekend and he is happy to speak to visitors who want to learn more about him or the situation in Iran.