The Cry for Women’s Rights in Iran

"If I don't go out and protest, who else will?"

These are the last words of Minoo Majidi, a 62 year old shot in a protest of Kermanshah in the west of Iran. Joined by her are over 500+ innocent souls who have been killed by national security in Iran for protesting against the tyrannical legislation over a woman and the choices she deserves to have.Today Iran remains waving the ideals of the patriarchy, but prior to the 1979 revolution, such a male dominated state never constricted the freed women to a uniformed dress code or mandated to veil. The streets across the globe remain crowded with many indignant Iranians and allies chanting the name of Mahsa Amini, desperate for a change to be made.

So who is Mahsa Amini?

On September, 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini died in Tehran after being captured by the Iranian morality police three days earlier due to an “improper” wear of the traditional hijab. Sources release that she was beaten in a police truck whilst in custody. In contrast the state claims that there was no violence occurring, and she happened to die of a heart attack. The cathartic event for many Iranian women resulted in students rallying in the halls of their schools, girls burning their hijabs in protest, chopping of locks of hair out of fury, and defying Iranian modesty laws to

In the months that followed Mahsa’s death over 500+ protesters have died, along with the thousands of women, children, and journalists that have been arrested and facing charges punishable by death. The Iranian government is trying to shut down all access to internet, but the horrors within the nation continue to spread across social media. Videos of officers violently beating protesters, disguising ambulances as transport vehicles for detainees, and suppressing the voices and cries of innocent people, inspire many fearless activists to fight for change within the community.

In December of 2022 the United Nations member states removed Iran from a key UN women’s rights group. According to Artemis Moshtaghian, a news editor for CNN and CNNI, “Twenty-nine members of the UN’s Economic and Social Council voted Wednesday in favor of a resolution proposed by the United States to “remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term.””

Here’s what you can do to help

As censorship is ever so powerful amongst the Iranian government, every free man and woman across the globe has the power to make change by spreading the news across social media, becoming educated in the social crisis, and becoming a free thinker. In Iran itself, over 60% of the university graduates are women. The ridiculous contention for women to lose their humanity and rights because of their mere genetics is ridiculous and ends now. The power to use your voice, adopt a free train of thought, and help the community around you is the utmost powerful weapon against such tyranny.