Nottingham activists gather in the city centre in solidarity with anti-government protests in Iran.
The Woman, Life, Freedom organisation has called for more action from the UK government following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, on 16 September 2022.
Amini was arrested in Tehran by Iran’s ‘morality police’ for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. Three days later, she died after being in a coma.
Ash Nazarin, a third year university student and protester, said: “People are not blind, hundreds of innocent men, women and children have already been killed and it can’t go on.
“We want the western countries to cut diplomatic ties with the Iranian regime. We want to free our country.”
The Woman, Life, Freedom organisation launched on 23 September 2022, rallying weekly on Nottingham’s High Street to show their continued support for the people of Iran.
These peaceful protests include chanting, displaying posters and paying their respects to those killed in a symbolic gesture of kneeling and kissing the ground.
“We want to see the same action as with other western countries.”
Mina Fatemi, protestor
Mina Fatemi, a protester and senior manager for NHS England, said: “We want to be the voice for the people of Iran as they do not have a voice at the moment.
“We want to raise awareness and attract attention to let people know what’s going on, so hopefully they can come forward so we can educate them or be encouraged to read about it elsewhere.”
This came after Iranian authorities restricted civilians’ access to the internet in the hope it will prevent the unrest from spreading.
Photo and video content has been shared globally across social media platforms under the hashtags ‘Mahsa Amini’ and ‘Women Life Freedom’ to raise awareness of the situation in Iran.
The footage includes members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Cops (IRGC) violently harassing protesters and women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair to fight for their rights.
Nazarin said: “Once the movement surrounding Mahsa Amini’s death was trending on Twitter, we used it to bring attention to the other lives lost during this revolution.”
The Woman, Life, Freedom organisation has received a lot of sympathy from the people of Nottingham, including support from local Labour MP Nadia Whittome, but they are still determined to demand more from the UK government.
The Iranian regime is persecuting protesters. Thousands of people have been detained and one person already sentenced to death.
I tabled a motion calling on the UK government to take action to defend human rights in Iran.
Please ask your MP to sign 👇🏽https://t.co/02A8z2Wc4z
— Nadia Whittome MP (@NadiaWhittomeMP) November 15, 2022
Fatemi said: “Compared to what we have seen from Canada, Germany and other European countries, we have not been receiving attention to the standards we have wished for, unfortunately.
“People do not see or hear much on the news or from the government so they might not take it as seriously.
“We want to see the same action as with other western countries.”
Nazarin added: “We have succeeded in what we do if the media in everyday life covers it. We need to be in people’s faces to show what is happening.”
