Support the women's

revolution in Iran

Background:

For the last 43 years Iran has been ruled by a tyrannical oppressive government. There is no freedom of expression and women have very little rights. Dancing in public by women is against the law. Below are just a few examples of arrests:

A group of kids were arrested for making a simple music video to the song, Happy by Pharrell Williams (2014)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29272732

Maedeh Hojabri was arrested for posting her dances on Instagram (2018) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/09/iranian-women-are-posting-videos-of-themselves-dancing-in-support-of-arrested-instagram-star/

Sahra Afsharian, Sara Shariatmadari, Niloufar Motiei - arrested for shuffle dancing and charged with “obscene content creation” (2019)

Mehdi Rajabian (musician) – arrested for collaborating with female artists (2020)

The resilient people of Iran continue to dance and express themselves despite the restrictions, but they risk their lives by doing so.

Besides freedom of expression, there are other basic human rights for which the women of Iran are fighting. For example:

in a court of law two female witnesses equal one male witness

When couples divorce, the child is automatically given to the father unless he allows the mother to have custody, or there are special circumstances.

LGBTQ members have no place in Iran and are persecuted and even executed by the government.

The current revolution:

In September of 2022 a revolution began in Iran, which is led by brave young women, and men who stand by them. These kids, yes kids of 16, 17, even 10 years of age, who stand against bullets and batons, are shot and beaten to death, and run over by police cars every day, but they are determined to make a change. The say, “for every one dead, a thousand will rise.”

Thanks to social media, you can see actual videos of the violence unleashed upon the people by the Iranian government.

In addition to the police and the militia, government-hired thugs in street clothes attack and assault unarmed protestors. The police breaks into people’s homes without a warrant, and drags accused protestors to political prison, where they are often tortured and executed.

University students are arrested and beaten in large numbers and taken to prison, where they are not heard from. And to the horror of their families, sometimes their bodies are thrown at the parents with distain and harsh remarks, or not returned at all due to fear of protests at funerals. The so-called “morality police” has caused numerous deaths, many of them children, just for seeking basic human rights. How is it “moral” to beat and shoot children to death? This isn’t about morality, it’s about power.

This revolution is not about hijab. It’s not against Islam, or any other religion.

It’s about standing up to tyranny
It’s about separation of church and state
It’s about freedom of choice and expression: whether its what you wear, or your sexual orientation
It’s about basic human rights
It’s about gender equality
It’s about putting an end to 4 decades of corruption and injustice

Call to action:

- Stay aware

- Share info on social media to spread the word

- Use your dance as your voice of protest (dance activism)

- Sign petitions

- Join the protests and show that it’s not just Iranians. We ALL support human rights and women’s rights.

- Talk to your representatives and urge them to hold the IR of Iran responsible.

- Urge the United Nations to get involved. Not just investigate, but intervene.

Reliable News

- https://www.iranintl.com/en

- https://wwwwwww.aljazeera.com

How you can help: