For the past few weeks, women in Iran have been taking to the streets to protest against government control. The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman. Amini died from injuries inflicted to her during police custody. This happened after she was arrested for wearing an “improper” hijab – in violation of Iran’s mandatory hijab law. Along with the very important calls being made by Iranian women for their own rights, some have tried to co-opt the protests. That’s why it’s important to get news and information from people on the ground.
Here are some ways to show solidarity towards the women in Iran fighting for their rights.
Follow Iranian women on social media
Instead of relying on people’s opinions and thoughts on the issues being raised, it’s important to get information directly from the source. This means following Iranian women in Iran or the diaspora who are sharing what’s happening on the ground and how to understand the significance of the protests.
Some of the social media accounts and people to follow include:
Hoda Katebi
Hoda Katebi is an Iranian American writer and community organiser living in Chicago. She does extensive work on the fast fashion industry as a political fashion blogger. Katebi also speaks out on the Iranian government and the United States government’s role in the state Iranian people find themselves in.
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Masih Alinejad
Masih Alinejad is an Iranian journalist and activist. She was a parliamentary journalist in Iran. In 2009, Alinejad was forced to leave Iran for the UK
Others to follow on Instagram include @bitsofnaaz, @localbrownbaby, @hengaw_kurdi, @sarkhatism and @1500tasvir.
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Amplify Iranian women’s voices
Along with following people on the ground, it’s important to amplify the voices of the Iranian women. Instead of sharing think pieces and opinions from people writing from outside of the country or from a Western perspective, rather share the words and thoughts of the women on the ground. This also means listening to them. With any ground-level protest movements, it’s important to listen to the people and their demands instead of co-opting the movement for personal gains.
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Support organisations working on the ground
There have been many reports of people being arrested and even killed during the protests. While it might be difficult to get accurate numbers, organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Centre for Human Rights in Iran are good to turn to for further information. As the government are the ones the protestors are protesting against, the government might not be the most reliable source of information. Therefore human rights organisations serve an important role of documentation.
Educate yourself
The most important thing to do in situations like this especially if you find yourself in a country far removed from Iran is to educate yourself. This means reading about the situation in Iran, its history, its laws and how it got here. With any protest movement or conflict, there is no simple black-and-white response. There are many nuances and intricacies of the histories and issues. Education will help a person become more informed. It will also ensure that any act of solidarity for the women in Iran at the moment but any oppressed people generally comes from a place of understanding. This is as opposed to forming thoughts and opinions that come from limited information and bias.
Let us know what else could be an act of solidarity. Tweet us @thedailyvox
