Beau Roddis

On Saturday 22 October, a crowd of 80,000 gathered in Berlin to show solidarity with demonstrators in Iran, following the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini. Iranian shopkeepers and factory workers also went on strike.

Berlin Shows Solidarity with Iran

Demonstrators gathered from across Europe at Berlin’s Siegessäule (Victory Column) and surrounding areas. The group ‘Woman Life Freedom Collective’ organised the event to raise the voice and profile of the feminist uprising in Iran, from Berlin.

At first, the march appeared to be “trouble-free”. However, police later reported that some protesters set off smoke canisters or grenades. Participants also held up Iranian flags and signs which criticised Iranian leaders. Several read “Women, Life, Freedom” in both English and German.

Ninsha travelled to the rally from Sweden. She told German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle: “We are here in solidarity with the people of Iran.” She added that the aim of the demonstration was to “demand that European countries take clear steps […] and stop doing business with the [Iranian] regime”.

The police reported that 80,000 demonstrators took part in the rally. Initially, organisers only expected around 50,000 to attend.

Strikes in Iran

As nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini entered their sixth week, shopkeepers and factory workers across Iran walked out. Anti-government protests also broke out at universities in Tehran.

There were further protests in the southeastern city of Zahedan, during which protestors threw stones at motorists and damaged private property.

U.S. Interference

Meanwhile, correspondence between the U.S. and Iran continues, aimed at restoring the 2015 international nuclear agreement. These indirect talks are mediated by the European Union.

But the relationship has the potential to turn frosty, as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian accused the U.S. of supporting the unrest in Iran. He said: “I think they are looking to exert political and psychological pressure on Iran to obtain concessions in the negotiations.” He added that Iran would not make any such concessions.

Global Response

Women-led protests against the Iranian government have reverberated around the globe after 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, was killed in police custody in mid-September. Amini was arrested by the Iranian morality police for not wearing her headscarf correctly. The hijab was made mandatory in Iran in 1979.

The Guardian revealed that a CT scan of Amini’s head showed bruising, a brain haemorrhage, and damage to the skull. The scan confirmed that the young woman had died after being struck on the head, despite a video released by the Iranian police that claimed she died due to a heart condition or epilepsy.

The police in Iran usually wear body cams. However, they weren’t on the day of Mahsa Amini’s arrest.

There has been an explosion of national and global protests as a result. The ‘My Stealthy Freedom’ hashtag, which has been active for several years now, has also seen increased activity. Increasing numbers of women are filming themselves removing their hijab in public and posting the videos to social media, at great personal risk. At present, the campaign’s social media platforms have more than seven million followers and 80 percent of those are based inside Iran.

The Iranian government has since stated that it wants to use facial recognition to enforce hijab-wearing in public

Featured image courtesy of Taymaz Valley via Flickr. Image license found here. No edits were made to this image.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *