by Ilaria Biancacci
The first time I heard a crowd chanting “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi”, (Women, Life, Freedom), was during a political protest in Diyarbakir, Southeast Turkey, while I was covering the local elections of 2014.
Almost 10 years later the whole world is listening to the cries of women, and men, that are raising and fighting against the Iranian regime, after the unjust death of Mahsa Amini.
Mahsa Amini died because she was wearing her headscarf “improperly”. Once the news of her death hit the news, protests started spreading across Iran, and globally. Women have been on the frontline of protests before in Iran, but this time it’s clearly anti-regime, and has the sound of a revolution.
I have interviewed two of the millions of women that are protesting and fighting against the regime, to better understand what is happening on the ground in Iran, and what we can do to support. To protect their identities we will call them S. and E.
Q. Amini’s death has led to the bursting open of 44 years of Iranian women’s struggle against unjust laws and lack of control over their bodies and sexuality. Many news outlets are saying that this could be a turning point for women rights in Iran. What’s the reality?
S. “The reality is that in the last 44 years, Iranian women have been severely suppressed, and in addition to not having the right to freedom of dress and freedom of expression, they have half the rights of men and have been seen as the weaker sex in all aspects of life and society. The government of Iran has always tried to rule the people by keeping them in ignorance and misguidance and not letting the people’s fight for freedom reach anyone’s ears.
It has convinced the people of the world that these living conditions are the choice of these women. But this was not their choice and it is not, and after decades of repression, today the people of Iran, especially women, have found the courage to raise their voices against oppression, injustice and inequality, and they request the people of the whole world to raise their voices and support them”.
E. “The people are at a turning point. They will not stop protesting until the regime is over. The people of Iran have been living with these conditions for 44 years, and almost everyone has lost a friend, family member or loved one because of the regime.
People can no longer afford to live in Iran; many have moved abroad in order to survive. People want their freedom back—they are willing to die if necessary to see this happen because living in this way is not a life worth living.
Extremist Islamic ideas mixed with politics and law have made people no longer believe in Islam. They want to return to a monarchy or democratic way of life”.
Q. What will be the repercussions on neighboring countries,at an international level and on the future of women rights in Iran?
S. “The government of Iran has always abused the possession of oil and sold it to neighboring countries for its own benefit in a way that some of them remained silent in front of the oppression suffered by the people of Iran due to their selfishness.
There are always many demonstrations in Iran for various reasons, which have always been accompanied by repression and massacre of people. But this is the first time that the voice of the Iranian people has reached the ears of the world, and their courage, especially of Iranian women, has been an inspiration for other neighboring countries (such as Afghanistan) to confront oppression. We ask all the people of the world, neighboring countries, politicians, teachers, artists, etc. to be our voice and not be silent in the face of injustice in any part of the world”.
E. “When the people of Iran win their fight against the regime, Iran will become a democratic country and women will win their freedom again.
It is difficult to predict how this will affect women’s rights across other countries. We would like to think that this could have a domino effect on countries such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. We live in a different time. The people can see what is happening in other countries, they know that there are better ways of living, it is difficult to know but I hope that when the people of Iran beat the regime it gives the people of those countries hope that they can also be free one day.
However, at the same time women are losing rights in other places of the world. Look at USA and the overturning of Roe v Wade, some countries in Europe (Hungary, Poland, Italy) are voting far-right leaders such as Giorgia Meloni, who became the new Prime Minister of italy, and will adopt anti-queer and anti-abortion policies, bringing to life the most far-right government since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini.
74 million people voted for Trump, the most racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted president in history.
I think we have a long way to go for racial equality, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights”.
The first demonstration against the compulsory hijab was held in 1979. Since then, despite constant attempts to suppress it, the women’s movement has persisted and endured. Thanks to the help of digital technologies activists could also bring more light on some taboo issues like domestic violence, sexual harassment, and the #metoo movement.
Q. The Iranian government is now shutting down the internet, and I have read about the cyber surveillance system that they have put in place, especially after the 2019 uprising. What is the situation now? How are activists moving on the ground and outside the country?
S. “In order to prevent the unification of the people, and to discourage them and suppress them, the Internet is currently banned in Iran, and the government is trying to silence the voice of the people by nationalizing the Internet. Currently with some VPNs, a small number of people have been able to connect to the Internet and publish news, but due to the very low speed, this has become very difficult.
These calamities have never destroyed the unity of the people and only made them more angry and confident and their voices louder. Because this movement is not only for the freedom of clothing, but it is the vote for all the basic human rights for women and men and the freedom that has been hardened during the past 44 years, especially from minorities like the Baha’is.
Iranians are free-thinking people and oppose the Islamic Republic, and this time they will not rest until this virus is removed from their country with all the repressions, restrictions, deaths, arrests and threats”.
E. “The internet enabled the protests to gain traction worldwide and spread quickly, with many video’s going “viral” on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
The government is trying to silence protestors by blocking internet access, blocking communication within the country as well as blocking communications worldwide. This makes it difficult for protestors to communicate with each other making it difficult to organise campaigns and protests.. It also means the world can’t see the scale of the protests, we can’t amplify voices, we don’t know the scale of what is happening. We do know that the last time the internet was blocked the government killed at least 1500 people.
The government also doesn’t allow people to take photos or videos of the protests or their phones are confiscated which means we aren’t seeing the full scale of what is happening, which allows the government to downplay what is happening, and allows them to kill many people under the radar. However, the protests are getting bigger every day. People are closing their shops and businesses.
Many iranian families are scattered around the world. Social media was allowing Iranians outside of Iran to join the protests and amplify the voices of their friends and family in iran. Some people outside of Iran can feel helpless and the only way they can help is to join the social media campaigns and protests”.
Q. How can we help? What can we do to support?
S. “This is the first time that the voice of Iranians has reached the ears of the world, and many famous artists and people in the world, as well as hacker groups such as Anonymous, have stood up to defend the rights of Iranian women and support this movement.
We are very grateful for this support and this human unity to face oppression will mark a point of strength and progress in history for Iran and the whole world, which has been a reminder of the courage, unity and solidarity of all people to defend women’s rights.
We ask the people of the world not to be silent against the oppression of their own kind and to support Iranian women in any way they can with any initiative and be our voice. Let’s show that cruelty and injustice will not remain in the world.
We ask people not to make it seem natural and normal just because this is happening in the Middle East and to be aware that the hijab is not the choice of Middle Eastern women and most of us hate the hijab and wish we were born in another part of the world. We are like you and we live every day with longing to wear free and colorful clothes in the streets, without being assaulted or arrested.
Be our voice, because of the Internet interruption and severe suppression of protesters and killing of innocent people in the streets and the arrest of hundreds of people, we need your support and voice more than ever. Please do not let this freedom of will be turned off”.
E. “Protests have been held around the globe in countries like France, Italy, Canada, Germany, USA, UK, Korea, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, New Zealand, the Netherlands and many more.
Look for solidarity rallies in your city or organise one. Follow Iranian human rights organisations and activists. Share and amplify stories and news. Help users bypass internet censorship. Support applications such as the Snowflake Tor Project to help users bypass censorship”.
We are standing in solidarity with all Iranian women, we are singing with them “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi”, so that the world can hear the sound of the revolution.
