As a half-Iranian, the protests get to me. In Norway, the debate is derailing.
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Mina Minaie
Member of anti-racist committee, Socialist Youth
The people of Iran need a change. And we can support them more along the way.
I am in safe, democratic Norway. And while my biggest problems are what color the Russian suit should be, how the Nynorsk assessment went, and why one boy doesn’t respond to Snap, my peers in Iran live a completely different life.
My attachment gets to me
As half Iranian, the protests have since 22 years old Mahsa Amini died, walked in on me. I try to show my support, but it’s hard when I know how little I get to do. Young people in Iran pay with their lives because they fight for their rights. While this is happening, I am sitting in Norway. I am afraid, and I feel that my power of influence is not enough.
The number of death row inmates is increasingand several people involved now receive a death sentence just for making use of basic human rights.
Derailing her at home
In Norway, parts of the media coverage of the case have gone from dealing with basic human rights to dealing with Norwegians’ opinion on religious garments. I believe that the hijab issue is not the main point of this debate. It is about so much more.
It is about a population that has been oppressed for over 40 years. About young people who don’t get to choose for themselves. They do things because they have to, not because they want to. Ordinary people in Iran are now taking to the streets with the eyes of the whole world on them – not just the regime’s.
The fact that women are not allowed to dress as they want is much of the reason why the issue has received so much attention. But it must be seen from a larger perspective.
Don’t need an Iranian background to care
We do not yet know what the protests will lead to. All I know is that I have hope. A hope that more people show solidarity and support. You don’t have to have an Iranian background to care, and the battle has only just begun. Several are now paying the penalty with their lives, and we must show resistance to this. Not because we want to, but because we can.
You don’t have to have an Iranian background to care, and the battle has only just begun
We must not forget or ignore what is happening, and I want both individuals, but also the state of Norway, to do everything in their power to support the Iranians who are fighting. More political will is needed than recognizing that Iranians in Norway are brave, criticizing the regime and showing support for the Iranian people.
Change is required, political commitment from politicians who are not Norwegian-Iranians, and that the Norwegian people care. This is a change that the people of Iran desperately need, and that is needed before the battle is lost.
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