Protests throughout the year demonstrated the strongest pushback against oppressive regimes in decades.
Tensions in China, Iran and Russia boiled over at various points across 2022, driving protesters to their breaking point due to war, COVID-19 or simple denial of basic civil rights.
The protests also reached the West with greater visibility than ever before, providing protesters a platform to spread their message and make clear to the world why they wanted change.
The more visible elements of some protests have died down, but the people in these nations continue to voice their displeasure, marking a radical shift in their political landscapes and leading to an uncertain future as the governments look to regain loyalty and control that may have slipped from them forever.
No protest shook the world more this year than did the calls for change in Iran, which have lasted for over 100 days following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Morality police accused Amini of failing to adhere to the country’s headscarf (hijab) laws, taking her into custody and then rushing her to hospital an hour later.
The police claimed that Amini merely fell into a coma, but her family alleged that they saw clear proof that she had suffered a beating.
Her death kicked off what ended up the greatest pushback against the Ayatollah’s regime. Videos and photos of the protests regularly reached the West, appearing on social media sites like Twitter.
"Iranian people have proved to themselves and to the world that they are willing to risk their lives in order to obtain the most basic freedoms," Lisa Daftari, a Middle East expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital. "For 43 years, this regime has repressed its people and denied them of the most basic human rights.
"They are hoping that the rest of the world will support their movement as well," Daftari continued. "More than anything, Iranian protesters, and those who support them around the world, are hoping that in 2023 there will be more awareness, and more importantly, more public support of their movement.
"When you connect the dots, it’s unfathomable, why a movement for freedom, led by women, does not have more widespread support globally. It’s about human rights, freedom and world security."
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