“I haven’t slept since I learned of Mahsa Amini’s death. I had just returned to Paris from Toronto, where I was presenting “Les Nuits de Mashhad”. Since that day, I have been living like a sleepwalker.
Glued to my phone, I keep looking at the images of the demonstrations. I have been living abroad since 2008. There have already been many protest movements in Iran. I tell myself that we must be used to observing and experiencing these outbursts from a distance, yet this time it’s different: the women are in the front row. Extremely courageous, they remove their headscarves together (compulsory in Iran), while the hijab is the pillar of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It takes my breath away. I can only admire.
The new generation is stunning. She understood that as long as the woman is not the only mistress of her body, nothing will change in this country. This realization is extraordinary. And the challenge goes beyond the hijab. People don’t want this diet. The solidarity between them is also unprecedented. Going back is impossible. At the same time, I can’t help but be worried about a possible bloodbath to come. [un bilan de l’ONG Iran Human Rights faisait état, le 26 septembre, d’au moins 76 personnes tuées dans ces manifestations]. The violence of the forces of order is frightening. I saw a video where a soldier shoots at a child watching the street from his window. How can this man sleep at night?
“What can I do from here?” That’s the question I ask myself all the time. I share information on my Instagram account [suivi par 440 000 abonnés] and tell myself that I must use the platform that I have so that the world knows what the situation of these Iranian women is. All feminists, all men who believe in women’s rights must join the movement. It concerns you. If many talk about it, maybe those soldiers who are killing protesters in Iran will give up. If international opinion is sensitized, perhaps they will say to themselves: “The whole world is watching us and hating us.” They may change their minds.
For the moment, the world is passive. While people are being killed in Iran, Emmanuel Macron meets [le chef de l’Etat iranien] Ebrahim Raisi [en marge de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies à New York, le 20 septembre]. The French president shakes his hand and smiles at the camera. It pisses me off. It is essential to exert pressure on the Iranian authorities. Certain political and economic relations must be severed. In Iran, a wall has cracked, but I don’t know how long it will take before it collapses.