An Iranian woman explains how to support Iran's feminist protests

"Let Iranian women know that you see them"

Photo by Artin Bakhan on Unsplash

Last week, I got a message in my DMs from a friend and reader. She an Iranian who now lives in the U.S., and her message had a tone of urgency:  “I am not sure if you have heard about the protests going on in Iran; a 22-year old girl, Mahsa Amini, was killed by the morality police. Women are leading protests in all the major cities,” she wrote.

“Since yesterday the government started to filter all the social media. I can’t focus. I’m working but every five minutes I’m checking the news. I’m stressed. So I am writing to know: is there any way that we can make people more aware about this?”

As someone who bridges two worlds, she wants to help Americans better understand what’s happening with women in Iran, and she perceives that there are some misunderstandings about her homeland. 

She offered to speak to me, anonymously, to protect herself and her family. We will call her G. 

Since the protests began the government has been filtering the internet and cutting off communication platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, so she has had limited contact with loved ones there. She has heard from her family and they are safe, but she is scared for her friends.

“Girlfriends who usually message me every day, I haven’t heard from in a week,” she says. She is by turns incredibly proud of her sisters in Iran, and grief-stricken and anguished for their safety.

“I can’t go demonstrate in the streets, but I want to raise awareness. I want to be any help I can to women and girls there,” she said. 

Here’s what G wanted to share:

1. Most of the people in Iran feel that they are living under the occupation of a hostile regime that is the Islamic Republic. The people of Iran are not the government of Iran.