Born in Iran, I came to the U.S. in 1981 with a suitcase, $100 to my name, and no fluency in English. I was blessed with incredibly unselfish parents back in Iran who gave me up and a loving aunt and uncle here in the U.S., to build a better life for myself.
As you may have heard or seen, the Islamic Republic authorities are openly and indiscriminately killing its citizens – men, women, and children for the simple act of protesting for their freedom from oppression and tyranny.
FILE PHOTO: A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who ... [+]
Protesting is the right of every nation. But the Islamic Republic kills protesters with batons and bullets, and for good people worldwide to remain silent enables this continued abuse and puts more innocent lives in danger. Countless Iranians have already lost their health or died under senseless beatings, torture, and rape. Since coming to the U.S. in 1981, I’ve not witnessed such widespread and committed opposition to the Islamic Republic regime as in Iran today. While Iran has become accustomed to mass protests nearly once every decade, neither the student protests of 1999, the Green Movement of 2009, nor even the most recent November 2019 protests compares in fervor or magnitude to the current protests.
More importantly, for the first time since the inception of the theocracy in 1979, people are openly and fearlessly opposing 83-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. They are actively fighting to defend themselves against the security forces while tearing down billboards and burning pictures of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini.
As always with oppressive regimes, the lack of transparency often hides the actual number of protesters killed, including women and children, as they are likely to be much higher than reports suggest. They've been killed with batons to the head and bullets to the neck even as they ran for their lives. But the most unprecedented part of these protests is that they've been female-led.
Woman holding a protest sign for the killing of Mahsa Amini
The murder in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, arrested for inappropriate hijab, was the powder keg moment that ignited this most recent uprising. Women have taken to the streets, removing and waving their headscarves and setting them ablaze. They are cutting their hair in protest, despite knowing they will be arrested and sent to psychological reeducation centers, beaten, raped, and even killed. Young schoolgirls are removing their mandatory head coverings and chanting, “we don't want the Islamic Republic.”
The movement's slogan, Woman-Life-Freedom, is a declaration of opposition to a regime built on being anti-woman, pro-martyrdom, and repressive.
In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP ... [+]
To be clear, this uprising is not just about draconian dress codes. However, the compulsory hijab has become the most visible symbol of the subjugation of Iranian women. Now Iranian men and women stand shoulder to shoulder against the Islamic Republic gender apartheid regime that has maintained its power not only through the segregation and oppression of women in Iran but denial of all Iranians from freedom of expression, association, and assembly, as well as fair trials and due process.
Please make no mistake about it. The Islamic Republic is a totalitarian system that uses forced confessions and torture against its citizens to stifle all dissent. According to the World Economic Forum's 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, Iran ranks 143 of 146 countries. The Islamic Republic exemplifies why countries with the most discriminatory laws and attitudes towards women also experience the most significant turmoil, compromising international peace and security.
So, let’s address a few myths, which have sadly been perpetuated not only by representatives of the regime in Iran but also by global pundits. The first one, that compulsory hijab is a cultural issue and one the rest of the world shouldn't interfere with, couldn’t be further from the truth! You don't need to subjugate people to observe cultural norms, where schoolgirls are defying a lifetime of indoctrination by rising in classrooms, and people are taking to the streets and 10s of 1000s to protest something despite the risk of death at the hands of the authorities. You can safely assume that's NOT part of their culture.
The coercion that violates human rights has no place in any culture, and Iranians are risking everything for the world to understand this.
Another myth is that this regime is reformable. Regrettably, the 43-year case study of the Islamic Republic has proven otherwise. During this time, the Supreme Leader consolidated all levels of coercive state power. And Iranians and the world have repeatedly been hoodwinked into thinking that presidential elections, which have never been free or fair, would make a difference for them. But elections in Iran are theater. The rise to the presidency by Ebrahim Raisi, who has been a pillar of the oppressive state, implicated in crimes against humanity and whose leadership harkens back to 1980s Iran, is proof enough that a culture of impunity reigns supreme in Iran, and the theocracy is impervious to reform.
Like many exiled Iranians living abroad, I firmly believe that the future of Iran can only be written by its own people on its own streets. But no country can go at it alone in pursuing freedom and self-determination. If the rest of the world had not intervened, Nelson Mandela would have rotted in the apartheid-era South African prisons.
Every global citizen has a vital role in assisting nations in crisis. The Islamic Republic isn't just a threat to its own people. Its human rights abuses have become one of its primary exports. The catalog of abuses by the regime in Iran and worldwide is well documented. Throughout history, the Islamic Republic regime has taken foreign hostages to use as political bargaining chips. It has intimidated, abducted, and assassinated dozens of dissidents beyond its borders, including recent attempts on the lives of prominent writers and activists in the U.S. and the U.K.
The potential for the current protests to transform Iran from a theocracy to a representative government could be a geopolitical history-maker. And the most critical key to bringing about stability in the Middle East. That's why building global unity and regional capacity against the Islamic Republic's crimes under international law, including human rights abuses, is more critical than ever.
That's what the Iranian people want from the rest of us. To stop turning a blind eye to their suffering to fulfill our political objectives. For decades we've only responded to the symptoms of the Islamic Republic's hostile activities focused on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions and regional aggression. But to address the cause, we must commit ourselves to intelligently supporting the Iranian people's democratic aspirations of an Iran that is more respectful of and representative of its citizens.
What does that look like? First, we must unite to fight corruption and promote respect for human rights. And the current crisis in Iran calls for us to urgently support the establishment of an international independent investigative mechanism on the human rights abuses in Iran because there are no avenues for justice domestically in the country.
At a time when the Islamic Republic state security forces are, once again, using disproportionate violence on protesters, we must document these human rights violations and atrocities with mechanisms in place to hold those responsible accountable. Only with this level of global advocacy, coordination, and support for accountability and justice for the Iranian people can we address the Islamic Republic as the cause of our nuclear and geopolitical concerns.
But one thing is clear. Human rights abuses at this scale are a symptom of a deep political malaise and a government considered illegitimate by its people. Human rights are intricately bound with respect for the rule of law, and there can be no good governance in the long run without the rule of law. Good and law-abiding governance makes for better regional neighbors and cooperative members of the international community.
While the Islamic Republic doesn't represent Iran's 2500 years of rich history and culture, here is a brief poem, Bani Adam, meaning “sons of Adam” or “Human Beings” by the 13th-century Persian poet Sa’adi Shirazi, which is also inscribed on the United Nations building entrance:
Original Poem, Bani Adam, meaning “sons of Adam” or “Human Beings” in Farsi, by the 13th-century ... [+]
Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain.
If you've no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain!
The global community should want what the courageous demonstrators in Iran want. It's time for us to stop abetting the Islamic Republic of Iran and start supporting the freedom-loving people of Iran.
This post was inspired by Nazanin Boniadi’s speech to the U.N. Security Council.
