(C) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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Opinion | The More They Lock Us Up, the Stronger We Become [1]
['Narges Mohammadi']
Date: 2023-09-16
News update: On Friday, Narges Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all,” the Nobel committee said.
My fellow inmates and I were gathered in the women’s ward of Evin prison in Tehran one evening when we saw a television report of Mahsa Amini’s death. It was one year ago Saturday that she died in the custody of Iran’s morality police for allegedly failing to wear a proper hijab. Her death set off an immediate and widespread uprising — led by women — that rocked the country.
In the women’s ward, we were filled with grief — and rage. We used our short phone calls to collect information. At night, we held meetings to exchange the news we’d heard. We were stuck inside, but we did what we could to raise our voices against the regime. Anger reached its peak a few weeks later, when a fire swept through part of Evin on Oct. 15. We chanted “Death to the Islamic Republic” amid the gunfire from security forces, explosions and flames. At least eight people were killed.
Thousands of people protesting Ms. Amini’s death were arrested in the months afterward. As the anniversary of her death approached, Iran’s leaders worked hard to suppress dissent. I have been imprisoned in Evin three times since 2012 for my work as a defender of human rights, but I have never seen as many new admissions to the women’s ward there as in the last five months.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/16/opinion/narges-mohammadi-iran-women.html
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