“Women.Life.Freedom”
This is how you can support the protests in Iran with 5 minutes a day
© ASSOCIATED PRESS / Emrah Gurel / Picture Alliance
The death of Mahsa Amini, police violence, women all over the world cutting their hair and now the fire in Evin prison – the fight for freedom is life threatening. Outside support is difficult. But there is one thing we can do: Spread important information on social media – we’ll show you why and who you can follow.
Since September 17, 2022, people in Iran have been demonstrating daily for “Women.Life.Freedom” – since the day 22-year-old Masha Amini was buried. On September 13, the young woman was arrested by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. Three days later she was dead.
According to human rights groups, at least 240 more demonstrators died after her, including 32 minors, according to Der Spiegel. According to activist group HRANA, over 8,000 people have been arrested in 111 cities.
Many of the protesters who have died so far were not yet of legal age
Nika Schakarami is one of the youngest symbolic figures in the Iran protests. She died a few days before her 17th birthday – according to her family, she was killed, according to “Die Zeit”. Sarina Esmailzadeh was also only 16 years old. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, which relies on a witness, she was killed by security forces Beaten on the head with batons.Hadis Najafi, 22, died from shotgun pellets in the face, neck and chest.Four young women who were just beginning their lives and fought for nothing other than the freedom to determine their own lives.Four Names of thousands demonstrating for “Women.Life.Freedom” in life-threatening circumstances.
In order to stop the distribution of information, the mullahs’ regime is trying to restrict access to the internet, and blackouts keep happening. Despite this, images and videos of women taking off their headscarves and burning them at demonstrations or cutting off their hair make it onto the internet. Information is spreading about how the protesters died and the brutality with which the government responded to the demonstrations.
The fire in Evin prison shows the brutality of the Iranian regime
The Evin prison fire is the latest spotlight on the mullahs’ regime’s brutal resistance. The prison is known for the fact that rebels and opponents of the regime are being held there, and it can be assumed that the majority of the protesters were also imprisoned there, according to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. According to official figures, at least four inmates were killed and dozens of other detainees were injured. The reasons for the fire are currently unclear. The prison is notorious for ill-treatment and torture, particularly of political prisoners. Several states are now demanding absolute transparency of events.
The wave of protests in Iran has long since taken on revolutionary traits, according to ZDF journalist Golinah Atai. It is important to support this wave and to strengthen the back of the protesters on site. As? By sharing and disseminating information. Because these protests are attacking the foundations of the mullahs’ rule, political scientist Ali Fathollah-Nejab told the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”. Change is possible.
5 minutes a day is enough to support the Iran protests
On the TikTok platform, the blogger Miriam alias “mental.health.miriam” draws attention to how the protests in Iran can currently be supported. The best means is the dissemination of information via social media – most effectively via Twitter. Background: The Iranian Republic can restrict or shut down the Internet in the country, but cannot prevent everyone outside the country’s borders from disseminating information and networking.
Just five minutes a day is enough to share relevant topics, videos or pictures and to support the people with likes who are currently doing the most educational work. And who can you follow? The journalists and authors Natalie Amiri, Gilda Sahebi and Golineh Atai provide valid information and are currently on the follow list. But the television journalist Isabel Schayani also shares new information about the situation in Iran every day.
The main source of distribution for the four women is Twitter. Stories of those affected are shared, current dangers, but also critical statements on how German politics is dealing with the situation in Iran. Golineh Atai provides detailed background information in her book “Iran – Freedom is Female”.
Sources used: zeit.de, spiegel.de, rnd.de, twitter.com, tiktok.com, sueddeutsche.de