On 16 September 2022, the Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini was killed in Tehran. The morality police had arrested the 22-year-old from Seqiz (Saqqez) because she was allegedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly. She was fatally injured in police custody - five days before her 23rd birthday.
Amini's death sparked the most serious protests in Iran since the Islamic Revolution, which continues to this day, and became known as the "Jin Jiyan Azadî" revolution.
On the occasion of the second anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini's death, protests are taking place worldwide this weekend as well as next week.
The Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (Komelgeha Jinên Azad a Rojhelatê Kurdistanê - KJAR) is organizing many actions. Together with 25 left-wing, democratic, feminist and queer-feminist associations, organizations and initiatives from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands with links to Iran, Kurdistan and Baluchistan, KJAR published a statement calling for solidarity with the women-led resistance against the mullah regime and for participation in the protests.
The statement said: "As a vanguard force, women in Iran aim to achieve freedom and equality on a social, economic and political level. This movement courageously stands against all forms of oppression and discrimination, especially discrimination based on gender and sexuality, national and class oppression, Sharia law, sexist division of labor, patriarchy and compulsory hijab. The ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ uprising also strengthened many other resistance actions demanding freedom, equality and social justice and for the right of self-determination in Iran, such as the struggles of workers, students, educators, health workers, environmental activists and farmers."
The statement added that the "repressive, reactionary and criminal regime has since then gradually increased the repression, also in order to prevent the solidarity and unification of these movements among themselves. By imposing more and more death sentences and implementing them brutally, torturing political prisoners who resist and harassing their families, the regime is trying to create an atmosphere of fear" and spread terror in society. "
The statement continued: "Our solidarity is needed in the fight to abolish the death penalty and for the release of political prisoners. At the same time, it is more important than ever that we make our voices heard all over the world. The continuity of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ uprising has shown that the conscious progress of this movement depends on all other struggles of oppressed communities.
It is therefore also necessary to oppose the genocide of the Palestinian people by the racist government of Israel and to resolutely oppose the spread of war and warmongering by other forces such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan or Hamas and Hezbollah." The actions that will take place in the next few days are also intended to commemorate the more than 550 people killed by regime forces during the demonstrations following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. The thousands of political prisoners who were victims of a mass execution carried out by the Iranian regime in the summer of 1988 are also to be remembered. KJAR said: "We are taking to the streets in memory of all those people who have been murdered in the fight for freedom over the past 45 years."