Jin, Jiyan, Azadî – Women, Life, Freedom

What is it about?

Women in Iran are systematically oppressed by the Shia-Islamic based legal system - in various areas of public life as well as in private life. Be it inheritance law, compensation payments or testimony in court. There, their votes count only half as much as those of the men. If women do not comply with the rigid dress codes - in public spaces women must not only wear headscarves but also long coverings, their ankles are to be covered - they face draconian punishments such as imprisonment, torture or even murder. As in the case of Jîna Mahsa Amini.

What happened? 

Since the 22-year-old's death, an unprecedented wave of protests has been sweeping through Iran, initiated and led by women in the country and gradually joined by men. The young Kurdish woman from the city of Seqiz in the north-west of the country had been arrested by the morality police during a visit to Tehran, apparently because her headscarf did not completely cover her hair. In the course of her arrest, she was so badly beaten that she succumbed to her injuries in hospital a few days later. A video made at her funeral a day later showed women removing their headscarves in protest - a gesture that was quickly copied in many cities across the country. Within a week, the protests spread to many cities across the country. A central slogan of the protests are the Kurdish words "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" (in German: "Frau, Leben, Freiheit").

The protest in Iran is thus primarily a struggle of women for freedom and self-determination. The regime, on the other hand, continues to act with extreme harshness and brutality against the demonstrators, with the aim of stifling any desire for change with violence. The Basij militia, a paramilitary unit belonging to the so-called Revolutionary Guards and uniting the most loyal supporters of the system, plays a central role in suppressing the protests. Despite international appeals to immediately stop the violence against the demonstrators and various sanctions by the EU, the regime continues its terror against the civilian population unabated. 
 

The HSV family stands together

This post today is for Mahdad and Baback, who are representative of the many brave women and men fighting for freedom and self-determination. For the many supporters, former and active players as well as employees who are threatened by the long arm of the regime. And for all those who have already lost their lives. It is about freedoms that we take for granted, but in most places in the world are anything but. We want to use today's International Women's Day to express our solidarity and to say: We are thinking of you, we care about your fate. Precisely because the coverage of the ongoing oppression is slowly diminishing and the fate of Iranians is threatening to be forgotten, we want to use today to generate attention with our means and perhaps provide a little comfort.