Sunday, October 02, 2022

Pardis Sabeti Dedicates Her TIME100 Impact Award to Mahsa Amini and the Protesters in Iran

Sun, October 2, 2022 at 8:54 AM·3 min



TIME100 Impact Awards: Singapore
Pardis Sabeti
Iranian-American biologist, Harvard University

Pardis Sabeti receives her award at the TIME100 Impact Awards on Oct. 2, 2022 in Singapore. Credit - Ore Huiying–Getty Images for TIME

When computational geneticist Dr. Pardis Sabeti took to the stage at Sunday night’s TIME100 Impact Awards in Singapore, she dedicated her achievement to Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian woman whose death in police custody last month sparked a wave of protests in the country against the Iranian regime.

“I want to dedicate this award to Mahsa Jina Amini and the young Iranians right now who are fighting for their freedom, whose impact should be seen, should be supported and should be fought for,” she said to the crowd at the National Gallery Singapore.

Amini was detained by Iranian morality police for not wearing a hijab properly and died on Sept. 16 after reportedly suffering blows to the head. Since her death, dozens of demonstrators have been killed and many more arrested in Iran’s largest protests in almost three years.

Sabeti, herself a refugee from Iran whose family fled the country shortly before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, said that her achievements in infectious disease research were only made possible by the “freedom” and “opportunities” she experienced growing up in the U.S. Amini, she said, was planning on studying microbiology and one day medicine. “Those are the fields of my own research and my own life,” Sabeti said. “But her dream was unjustly cut short.”

Sabeti said that support for vulnerable people and those struggling against oppressive regimes is crucial to growing the kind of global solidarity needed to mitigate the harms of any future pandemic. “You see, viruses, they expose and they exploit the cracks in our society: the lack of justice, transparency, and equity,” she said. “The way we weather those storms is most dependent on the ways we choose to see each other and to fight together…to uplift every individual and empower every human on this earth.”

She called on the officials, executives and activists in the crowd to help restore internet access in Iran—which has been cut off in some areas by the authorities in an attempt to crack down on protests. “Every moment in darkness is a mortal threat to another young woman,” Sabeti said. “And for each of us, please see and share their stories”

Sabeti ended her speech with a dedication to Amini and other Iranian women who have lost their lives under the regime. “To Mahsa Jina, Neda [Agha-Soltan, an Iranian woman shot dead by a government sniper amid demonstrations in 2009], and all of those that are gone too soon, beh omid-e didar, we hope to see you again, and beh omid eh rooz eh azadi, with the hope for one day a day in freedom.”

The TIME100 Leadership Forum, held at the National Gallery Singapore, brought together CEOs and other business leaders from across the globe to discuss how they are using their platforms to build a better world. Speaking at the event were: former Google CEO and co-founder of Schmidt Futures, Eric Schmidt; Sandhya Sriram, the co-founder and group CEO of Singapore-based cultivated seafood company Shiok Meats; Neo Gim Huay, managing director of the Center for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum; Ari Sarker, Mastercard’s president for Asia Pacific; and Neeraj Aggawal, BCG’s Chairman for Asia Pacific.

Immediately following the Leadership Forum was the TIME100 Impact Awards, which featured actor and producer Alia Bhatt; Sabeti; Gregory L. Robinson, the former Director of the James Webb Space Telescope Program; and singer and actor Lea Salonga.

The TIME100 Leadership Forum and TIME100 Impact Awards in Singapore were produced by TIME in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Singapore Tourism Board, Mastercard, BCG, and Concha Y Toro.

'Woman, life, freedom': L.A. protest over Iran draws thousands


Laura J. Nelson
Sat, October 1, 2022

Thousands of Iranian Americans turn out in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday to protest the death of Mahsa Amini. (Laura J. Nelson / Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of Iranian Americans marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in solidarity with the protests that have rocked Iran since the death of a young woman in police custody three weeks ago.

At Pershing Square on Saturday morning, protest leaders with megaphones led chants of "zan, zendegi, azadi," or "woman, life, freedom," the rallying cry of the demonstrations that began in Iran and have spread to cities across the world.

The protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in detention after being arrested by the country's morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly, have become Iran's biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.


"If they can be in the streets in Iran, we can be in the streets here — it's the least we can do," said Leila Amadi, 22, of West Los Angeles, who carried a sign that read, "Be her voice." In a nod to the tricolor Iranian flag, Amadi wore a white top, green shorts and bright red lipstick.

Maz Jobrani, the Iranian American comedian and actor, livestreamed part of the demonstration on Instagram, chanting along with the crowd, "Say her name: Mahsa Amini."

"Everyone in America should know about this," Jobrani said. "This is a fight for freedom across the world. It's for democracy. It's to get away from authoritarianism. The people in Iran are fighting for democracy."

Southern California has the largest number of Iranian residents outside Iran. Protests were also planned in Orange County and San Diego, and more than a dozen other U.S. cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Miami, Denver and Washington D.C.

Thousands of Iranian Americans march in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in solidarity with protests in Iran. (Laura J. Nelson / Los Angeles Times)

As the crowd inched up Hill Street and across 1st Street toward City Hall, flanked by drummers and motorcyclists, people chanted, "Democracy for Iran, regime change for Iran!"

Many demonstrators wore masks, sunglasses and hats to avoid being identified in photos and drone footage. Others declined to give their full names, saying they were afraid to endanger loved ones who lived in Iran.

"This is not the first time we've had to protest like this, and unfortunately, it won't be the last," said Fereshteh, a Los Angeles resident in her 40s who asked to only use her first name for fear that the government would arrest her when she returned to Iran to visit her parents.

She held a sign that read, "How many protesters has the Iranian government killed today?" with red handprints in the background. The reverse side of the sign showed photos of 20 people who have been killed during the demonstrations.

Amnesty International has said that a crackdown on demonstrations by Iran's clerical government has led to the deaths of at least 52 people since Sept. 17.

"We want world leaders to do something," she said. "We need help. Iran needs help. We can't do this without the help of other governments, especially the United States."

Visible in the crowd were dozens of pre-revolutionary Iranian flags, which feature a lion and sun at the center instead of the stylized red symbol of the Islamic Republic. Flown during the government of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and banned after the 1979 revolution, the flag is frequently seen at anti-government protests.

A woman named Shohleh, who left Iran 44 years ago, wrapped the flag around her shoulders as she marched toward City Hall. She said she felt compelled to attend the protests to support the struggle of Iranian women, but worried that social media posts and protests would not be enough.

"I hope things will change," she said. "But in my head and in my heart, I'm afraid they won't."

The march ended at Los Angeles City Hall, where the Iranian singer Googoosh addressed the crowd.

Other protesters gathered around a black pickup loaded with portable speakers that blasted "Baraye," the ballad by Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour that has become the anthem of the protests.

The crowd sang along with the song's final lyrics: "For women, life, freedom; for freedom, for freedom."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Iranian woman pictured dining without a headscarf thrown in Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's old jail

James Rothwell
Fri, September 30, 2022 

Donya Rad

Iran has arrested a young woman who defied morality police by eating in a restaurant without wearing a hijab, in an image that went viral on social media and inspired thousands of anti-regime protesters.

The photograph showed Donya Rad eating breakfast in a restaurant in Tehran, alongside a female friend who was also not wearing a headscarf.

The pair were silently protesting the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman killed in the custody of the Iranian morality police for improperly wearing a hijab. Her death has sparked mass protests across Iran which have led to more than 50 people being killed by riot police.



It came as another image emerged from Iran of a young woman, Minoo Majidi, standing next to the grave of her mother, who was also killed in the protests. Staring into the camera, Minoo is shown clutching her shorn long hair, which Iranian women are cutting off as a symbol of resistance against the regime.

In a post on Twitter, Donya Rad's sister, Dina, revealed that Iranian police had confronted them about the photograph before arresting Donya.

“Yesterday, after this photo was published, the security agencies contacted my sister Donya Rad and asked her to give some explanations,” the sister said.

“Today, after going where she was told, she was arrested. After a few hours of silence, Donya told me in a short call that she was transferred to ward 209 of Evin prison." That referred to an infamous jail in Tehran where British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was also imprisoned before her release.

“Our family is very concerned about her wellbeing,” added Dina.


Minoo Majidi

The decision to arrest a woman for simply appearing in a photograph without a hijab reflects how the Iranian leadership has been spooked by the massive scale of the protests. Initially focused on the death of Ms Amini in police custody, they have quickly transformed into a campaign for the downfall of the Iranian regime.

Several other Iranian social media users have posted similar photographs of them venturing outside without headscarves, risking the wrath of riot police and Iranian security officers who seem to be sifting through high-profile internet posts to make arrests.

Campaigners and Iran affairs analysts have described the decision to arrest Donya as “brutal and sick”. Comparisons were also drawn with Rosa Parks, the black civil rights activist in the United States who, in 1955, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

Over the past week, extraordinary footage has shown Iranians engaged in running street battles with riot police, in some cases overpowering them. Many women are burning their hijabs on bonfires in the streets in protest as well as cutting off their hair.

In a letter on Friday, Iranian football fans asked Fifa to ban their national team from this year’s World Cup in Qatar over the crackdown.

“Why would Fifa give the Iranian state and its representatives a global stage, while it not only refuses to respect basic human rights and dignities but is currently torturing and killing its own people?” they wrote on behalf of the Open Stadiums campaign.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 29 journalists have been arrested, including Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, female reporters who helped expose Amini's case.


Watch: Protests in Iran continue against regime for 15th straight day
CLICK ON TO VIEW


No comments:

Post a Comment