A call to be heard!

Written by Arshak Saki 16^th March 2023

Throughout history, there have been many revolutionaries such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. These people, relying on their indomitable spirit and the support of the people were able to create many political and cultural changes in their country.Today they are remembered as a symbol of freedom, independence, and justice.

Today I want to talk to you about people who had neither the spiritual knowledge of Mahatma Gandhi nor the political knowledge of Nelson Mandela. They were just kids and ordinary people who only wanted to live in freedom.

Let´s have a closer look at Ms. Nika Shakarami. She was one of the young protestors participating in the Uprising of Iran in 2022. She was tortured and killed by the repressive forcesof the Islamic Republic. Based on the videos recorded on September 29, Shakrami had been very active in the front lines of the protests without any fear, such as burning scarves and shouting slogans. Women’s rights were important to her, and she did not shy away from standing her ground in public. Therefore, with the beginning of the repression, security forces seriously sought to arrest her on the same night. In her last call, she said that she was running away from the officers. Her family had been searched for her in all prisons, detention centers, police facilities,and hospitals since Tuesday night, 29 September. After 10 days, her injured body was identified in Kahrizak Prison by her family.

Nika’s body was handed over to her family while her face was crushed and destroyed by batons. According to the forensic doctor, Nika had been raped several times. Her body was stolen by officers and buried secretly. Police denied any wrongdoing. She was just a sixteen-year-old girl,who according to relatives, migrated to Tehran to study and had special skills in art and design.

Iranian artists are also threatened and arrested for reacting to the protests. For example, Shervin Hajipour was arrested for writing the song “Baraye” which means “For Freedom”. This song shows in one word the pain and suffering that the people of Iran have endured in these forty-three years. After the arrest of Shervin, the agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran deleted the song from his online page. However, Iranians continued to sing and play this song on the streets and on social media. This year at the Grammy Awards, the song “Baraye” won the best song for social change.

For forty-three years, the people of Iran, including women and girls, have been oppressed and tortured by the Islamic Republic and do not have the right to live freely. Unfortunately, the government of the Islamic Republic cuts off the internet throughout the country, and the voices of the Iranian people do not reach the world. On the other hand, my friends and acquaintances also suffered a lot from government agents. I urge people all over the world to join in, to speak with one voice, and to show their support if justice and women’s rights are really important to them. The people I mentioned in the introduction of this blog post should not be seen as insignificant but as passionate advocates for human rights. They deserve our support. Thank you for reading this blog post. If you want more information, be sure to follow this website. You can leave a comment, too.