What’s going on in Iran?

A protest spreading all over the world

What’s going on in Iran is appalling and cannot go unnoticed. It’s about women, and it’s about human rights. And so, we cannot turn our heads.

In early September, the morality police arrested Masha Amini, a 22 years old Kurdish girl. Why? Because she didn’t wear her hijab properly. Just reading this news feels insane and gut-wrenching!
Led to a re-education camp, she had a cardiac arrest and fell into a coma. Three days later, she died.

Witnesses said Misha Amini was brutally beaten by the authorities. As a consequence of this horrible death, Iranian people started big riots on the streets. Also calling for the fall of the regime – the Islamic Republic – a dictatorship that has subjugated people for decades.

In Iran, there’s no freedom of expression or association. Women, LGBTQ people and minorities are discriminated against and abused. And women are forced to wear a hijab from the age of nine.
Indeed religion is the tool in the hands of the dictatorship to suppress freedom and control people.

Iran protests
Marco Melgrati Illustration

Despite the regime’s atrocity, to protests over Mahsa Amini’s death, women in Iran started cutting off their hair. Soon the protests spread everywhere. In fact, in solidarity with Iranians, women around the world have cut or shaved their hair in public.
Also, Iran’s national team wore plain black jackets over their uniforms in Qatar.

Protesting in democratic countries plays a role as an expression of democracy. But rioting where people risk the death penalty really means having guts.

Therefore, what happens in Iran is something we need to share and discuss in order to spread awareness and solidarity.

Even though we cannot add new pieces of information, we cannot stay silent. And what really counts is that we all can contribute to giving voice to the Iranians.

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