A messge from Iranian activists

Taymaz Valley from Ottawa, Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

As a journalist and human rights defender, I was exiled from my home country Iran for speaking out against the brutal oppression of women.

Now a people’s revolution is unfolding in front of our eyes. For over 40 days, courageous women and girls have been leading demonstrations on every street after the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini, demanding freedom and an end to the brutal dictatorship that treats women as second class citizens.

But the regime is beating and killing them in an effort to silence their voices. Enough!

Now I am personally asking you to join me and other Iranian activists in calling on world leaders to stand with the people in Iran, and use their political and economic influence to isolate the regime, and push for an end to the bloodshed.

Let's make this the biggest global call to stop the war on women in Iran, and I will work with Avaaz to deliver our voices to the media and key governments. Join now and share with everyone:

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"Iranian Women are leading a revolution – marching in the streets of my country, shoulder to shoulder with men, chanting, dancing, removing and burning their headscarves to protest the death of 22-year old Jina Mahsa Amini after the ruthless so-called morality police beat her.

In the face of guns and bullets, these fearless young women and girls are becoming the biggest threat to Iran’s regime of gender apartheid.

They’ve had enough.
Enough of being oppressed and criminalised.
Enough of being humiliated.
Enough of being beaten and killed.
Enough of being silenced.

They just want to take back their dignity and their freedom. For them, being forced to wear the hijab is much more than simply covering their heads. It is the most visible symbol of oppression -- like the Berlin Wall – and they are determined to tear it down.

We cannot let their struggle be in vain. We cannot be discouraged by the tepid words and inaction of world leaders.

Let’s offer them a global megaphone so their voices are louder than the tyrants.

Let’s all speak up and call for an end to the bloodshed. Let’s stand with women and men in Iran as they fight for their freedom - freedom to choose what they wear and how they live, and freedom to choose a government that respects their rights and dignity."