Messages of support for anti-government demonstrations in Iran sparked by the killing of Iranian Kurd Jîna (Mahsa) Amini continue to flood in after nearly three weeks of protests, with politicians taking the podium at the European Parliament to demonstrate their solidarity.
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died in hospital on 16 September after being beaten during her arrest by the Islamic Republic’s notorious morality police over allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
Over nearly three weeks of mass anti-government protests that ensued, dozens of protesters have been killed by violent responses by security forces, with the Iran Human Rights NGO placing the death toll at 92 on Monday.
“Three weeks of continuous courage has been shown by the women in Iran. Persian, Azeri, Kurdish women are paying the ultimate price for freedom: Their lives,” said Swedish Centre Party MEP Abir Al-Sahlani during a speech to the European Parliament on Tuesday.
Traditionen att klippa av sig håret i protest är tusenårig.
Den visar att ilskan är starkare än förtryckarens makt.
Irans kvinnor har fått nog.
EU borde visa samma mod och ge dem fullt stöd. pic.twitter.com/0FdMB9XoXu— AbirAlsahlani (@AbirAlsahlani) October 4, 2022
Criticising the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, for his failure to speak out about the situation in Iran during the UN General Assembly, which started in September, Al-Sahlani called for action from the European Union.
“Enough for the press releases now, enough for the mumbling, it’s time to speak out, it’s time to act. The hands of the regime of the Mullahs in Iran is stained with blood,” she said, before producing a pair of scissors to cut a lock of her hair, a common demonstration of solidarity with the protesters in Iran.
Evin İncir, an MEP from Sweden’s Social Democrat Party, made her own call for a show of support to the Amini protests, reciting the protesters’ rallying slogan of ‘Jin, Jîyan, Azadî’ – ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’.
“The Iranian feminist revolution is a democratic revolution taking place right now, İncir said. “The autocratic regime might think that they can silence the people but they just fuel the anger.”
Noting that the protests have attracted support from a wide range of people drawn from Iran’s many ethnic groups, including Iranians, Kurds and Baluchs, İncir said the protests were challenging a government that had kept women, minorities and opposition groups living “in horror” for 40 years.
While the Swedish MEPs kept Amini’s name on the agenda at the European parliament, the young woman has not been forgotten by public figures and activists around the world, and tributes to her and the movement she inspired have continued to pour in.
“In her name, people are standing up and saying ‘no’ to the repression meted out by the Islamic Republic,” said prominent scholar and activist Angela Davis during a filmed statement.
Prominent political activist, scholar and author Angela Davis expresses her solidarity with protesters in #Iran #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #Woman_Life_Freedom #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/mZUWW87fnD
— Malihe Razazan -ملیحه رزازان (@maliherazazan) October 4, 2022
“In her name, people are recognising the inestimable contributions of Kurdish women to struggles for freedom in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran,” she said.
Davis’s words echoed the statements of solidarity from numerous fellow academics, including Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who recorded his own statement last week.
