Families, women in chadors join Iran's opposition

It's not just young, liberal rich kids anymore, whole families, taxi drivers, even conservative women in black chadors are joining Iran's opposition street protests.

They say they want something simple, their votes counted and their voices heard. What they will settle for or push for is a far bigger question.

It's still too early to determine if the street protests will morph into a solid political opposition movement led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi. And some Iranians have expressed doubt about people's willingness to sustain the momentum.

But in Tehran and other cities throughout the country, Mousavi supporters from both the upper and middle-classes are sending a strong message.

"The government doesn't care about our votes, but we stand behind them. Mousavi stands up for our votes and we follow him," said Saham Boorghani, 26, who is close to Mousavi and an editor at the reformist Web site Iranian Diplomacy.

Boorghani is typical of the young reformists who initially backed Mousavi but that support is growing to include grandmothers, government employees and hotel clerks.

The last time Iran was engulfed in similar anti-government action was a decade ago when a deadly raid on a Tehran University dorm sparked six days of nationwide protests.