Solidarity with the brave women of Iran

[Signalbox]

Just reading/watching about the tragic death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for incorrectly wearing the hijab. These women are so incredibly brave.

"Anti-government protests are taking place across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 16 September. Amini was detained in Tehran by a paramilitary unit that enforces Islamic dress codes after she reportedly didn’t wear the hijab correctly. She fell into a coma under unknown circumstances while in custody and later died, prompting outrage at religious police and security forces. However, despite its scale, analysts and diplomats are doubtful that the protests will lead to any significant change."

'chants heard at rallies, such as “We’ll support our sisters and women, life, liberty”, had been heard around the country.

“This is unprecedented for us. We have never seen women take their hijab off in mass like this. Burning down the police centres, running after their cars, burning down the pictures of [supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei,” she said.'

From the Guardian report.

My thoughts exactly. Men protesting, too.

Now protests in other countries, including the UK.

Solidarity with these strong women and men fighting back against their oppression. So devastating how women are treated still.

I cant imagine how awful it must have been that you are literally willing to risk your life because the thought of dying isn't as much of a fear as continuing on under that regime. I,m honestly in awe of their bravery.

It has become painfully clear world-wide in the past few years that all the actions towards women's equality and rights were nothing more than vague, shallow gestures that served those at the time to make. Hence here we are, world wide, fighting all over again from the ground up the ground we'd already thought we'd won. This time it is going to have to be done with a lot more cynicism and a lot less willingness to trust.

Deepest respect for the women in Iran who have the guts to do this when it is real and immediate threat to their lives that they are putting on the line to stand up to their oppression. They are shaming the men involved across the world's press.

Interview with Yasmin Mohammed human rights activist on Free Speech Nation.

Kudos to the Iranian men's football team for taking a stand on this issue:

Iran’s players covered up their national symbols by wearing jackets before the friendly with Senegal on Tuesday evening, showing solidarity with protests against the repression of women in their home country.

[...]

Carlos Queiroz’s team wore black jackets while the national anthems were played, concealing their country’s colours and badge. The match was played behind closed doors by edict of Iran’s football association, which held the rights to the fixture, but a sizeable number of demonstrators gathered outside in an effort to make their voices heard on television feeds.

On Sunday the influential Iran forward Sardar Azmoun had spoken out in support of the protests via his Instagram account. “At worst I’ll be dismissed from the national team,” wrote the Bayern Leverkusen player. “No problem. I’d sacrifice that for one hair on the heads of Iranian women. This story will not be deleted. They can do whatever they want. Shame on you for killing so easily; long live Iranian women.”

www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/28/iran-footballers-show-solidarity-with-protests-over-mahsa-amini-death

Solidarity.

Hope the amazing women get rid of those horrible old bastards.

I’m blown away by their bravery.

The whole situation is so huge and hostile, I really hope their protests work. I wish there was some way to help but it seems too big, and I’m not convinced that Western interference would improve the situation.

Dr. Shiva Balaghi on Twitter: "The digital protest art being created in Iranmuch of it anonymouslyhas been absolutely brilliant":

twitter.com/SBalaghi/status/1575641902665170944

Oops, not sure how the strike-through happened - it wasn't intentional.

I see there have been protests in Afghanistan, supporting the women of Iran and women's rights.

I wish I could do more than just state my solidarity, but it's there, for what it's worth.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11261919/Taliban-forces-clash-women-shouting-life-freedom.html

I hope this continues to build. They're unbelievably brave.

Bumping to add the name of Nika Shakarami - vanished after protesting, a week for her family to receive her dead body, broken and beaten... there are so many horrors happening, I watch her so alive on this video and words fail..

From Masih Alinejad on Twitter

RIP Nina horrific. These women are so courageous.

Nika, phone autocorrect

There are very brave indeed.

There are lots of videos on TikTok where schoolgirls have removed their head covering and are chanting, rebelling and protesting. They are incredible

Hi, OP. Just to let you know, we have moved your thread from the Sex & Gender topic to the Feminism: Chat topic.

That's a shame. The thread has been ticking along quite nicely where it is. The women of Iran are clearly being oppressed on the basis of their sex, not their self-declared gender identity. The struggle that they face has everything to do with their biological sex. These women cannot identify out of their sex class by declaring that they are non-binary or that they are men. So I can't really see why the topic doesn't belong in the category where I posted it.

Agree. This is absolutely a sex based issue and not a gender based one, no one is remotely confused on who is being beaten up and killed and who is getting to do the beating up and killing. No genital or chromosome checks involved. No checking for GRCs first.

Agree! Perhaps it could go back to feminism sex and gender, via AIBU for a bit more coverage.

So impressed by the brave schoolgirls in Iran. Is it too much to hope this is the beginning of the end?

Why?! Why on earth move the thread to the backwoods?

The women of Iran suffer because of their sex and gendered expectations.

In order to pretend this isn't the backwater.
To pretend that there is a feminism which is apart from sex and gender.

Obviously there isn't. There's nothing to discuss in feminism which doesn't hinge on the sex of the feminists.

Oh wait! There's recipes! I know we need to talk about recipes quite often.