In Solidarity With Iranian Women

Women, Freedom, Life

This slogan, “Women, freedom, life” is being shouted in massive anti-government protests happening currently in Iran

A story broke on recently about an Iranian woman who was arrested on September 13th in Tehran by the country’s Morality Police, for violating the Islamic Republic of Iran’’s strict dress code. Mahsa Amini was picked up for being improperly dressed by their standards. She died in custody under suspicious circumstances. She was 22 years old.

Widespread protests errupted, and continue in many cities in the country, as many hundreds and thousands of Iranian citizens are risking their lives speaking out publicly against the government. Many are being arrested and shot at by police with rubber bullets. Iranian officials have shut down Instagram and WhatsApp, a move to restrict the protesters ability to organize. Protesters, many of whom are women, are publicly cutting their hair and posting the videos on social media. Women are burning their hijabs in bonfires to cheering crowds. It is reported some protestors are burning police stations and cars.

I feel for Masha Amini’s family and for the women of Iran and stand in solidarity with them. I hope for a peaceful outcome, one that does not imprison women in their daily lives.

Wikipedia lists some of the reactions of various groups.

• Amnesty International requested a criminal investigation into the suspicious death. According to this organization, "all responsible officers and officials" in this case must be brought to justice and "the conditions leading to her suspicious death, which include torture and other ill-treatment in the detention center, must be investigated criminally."[28][60][14]

• Human Rights Watch called Amini's death "cruel" and wrote: "Iranian authorities should cancel the mandatory hijab law and remove or amend other laws that deprive women of their independence and rights."[61][62]

  • Additional concerns were raised by the group at the apparent lethal force retaliation by government officials to the protests.[63]

• Center for Human Rights in Iran: Mahsa Amini considered as another victim of the Islamic Republic's war against women and requested that violence against women in Iran should be strongly condemned all over the world in order to prevent such preventable tragedies.[64]

• The United Nations announced that the torture and murder of Mahsa Amini should independently be investigated.[65][66] A joint statement by UN experts "strongly condemned the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody".[67]

• Anonymous claimed to have disrupted several Iranian government and state-affiliated media websites in support of the protests and disbursed a video stating the group's support of the protests along with footage of the protests.[68]