Following the 2022 Mahsa Revolution of Iran, freedom activist and Iranian rap song musician Toomaj Salehi was imprisoned and is now sentenced to death. Despite the regime’s severe repression, he never lost hope, even in his darkest moments and in the solitary confinement of Iran’s oppressive regime.
The Women, Life, Freedom Movement
The Women, Life, Freedom Movement is a revolutionary protest that started in 2022 in Iran. This movement took place due to the killing of an innocent young woman by the Iranian police and non-observance to the mandatory hijab law. When it surfaced that Mahsa Amini’s death was caused by agents of Iran’s morality police, a fire of protest engulfed Iranian society. Protests erupted in cities across the nation as people took to the streets in solidarity. Mahsa’s death not only ignited protests in Iran but also presented the slogan of this movement.
At Mahsa’s funeral, the crowd shouted “Woman, life, freedom”. From here, these words formed the Iranian people’s movement. They wrote on Mahsa’s tombstone “Jina, you will not die, but your name will be coded” The other name of Mahsa was ‘Jina’ which in Kurdish means life.
The prominent feature of this movement is its democratic nature; the demand for equality and freedom, with a focus on confronting the mandatory hijab. Different sections of society, from artists to athletes, joined that movement and supported the positions of the Iranian people. A core request of the people in this revolution is to comply with the provisions of the Declaration of Human Rights.
The judicial and security apparatuses of the Islamic Republic of Iran threaten ‘women without hijab’ with various positions to give up their civil rights. Yet the presence of freedom-seeking Iranian women without hijab in the streets and the support of famous figures has continued this movement. Despite the regime’s bloody repression, Iranian women continue their struggle, not losing hope that their rights can be respected.
Tragic losses and ongoing struggle
The demands of this movement are completely democratic, and the spark of the protests started in support of women. But many innocent citizens have been arrested, tortured and killed by the government as a result. The security forces of the regime have openly shot the faces of the protesters, especially the women protesters, with shotguns, and a large number of the protesters lost their sight and became blind. The report of the Iran Human Rights Organisation (IHRNGO) has verified many of these crimes.
With all the cities and ethnicities of Iran having participated in this revolution, there is no geographical centre for this uprising. When people are oppressed in one province, people in other provinces do not lose hope and rise to support them.
Due to the bloody repression by the government in which many children and teenagers have been killed, this movement is widespread and has the national determination and hope of the Iranian people for change.
The countless young lives lost include Esra Panahi (15), Arnica Ghaem Maggi (17), Mehdi Farhani (17), Amin Maroufi (15), Sadaf Mohadi (17 years old), Sarina Saedi (16), Ainaz Javaheri (15), Diana Mahmoudi (7) and Kian Pir Falak (9).
Given the nature of the regime, it is impossible to determine the exact number of the dead. The volume of arrests has been extensive, reaching 100k people. This amount of brutality is carried out by the bloodthirsty regime, which punishes unarmed women and children whose only desire is democracy and freedom.
Since 2022 the government has increased daily the level of harassment, arrest, torture, and oppression of fighters and civil activists. This is a government that has imposed a terrifying and suffocating life on the people of Iran. Internet and virtual spaces are under severe censorship and people’s access to uncensored news or information is limited.
A message of hope amidst despair
Toomaj Salehi, an artist supporting the movement, faced multiple arrests and torture for his protest songs that opposed the policies and bloody repressions of the government. He is currently a prisoner in Isfahan prison.
In 2023, he received the ‘Heretic’ award from the Global Music Awards organization.
In 2022, when we were at the height of the bloody suppression of the movement, they arrested Toomaj. His only crime was to support the oppressed women and children of his country. There was no news of him, and it was not clear whether he was alive or dead. In Iran, many protestors have been tortured and killed during detention yet the government has never been held accountable. At the time of Toomaj’s arrest, the government had become much more ferocious and bloodthirsty than before due to the fear of falling. Fear and at the same time a strange despair had covered the entire existence of the people. Everyone was worried about Toomaj’s life and desperately waiting for news from him. Gradually, despair settled over the people, and the government achieved its final victory.
Suddenly, an image surfaced widely on social media. In this photo, Toomaj had written a sentence from Toomaj on the wall with spray paint, took a picture of it, and published it online. With so many concerned about the well-being of this young artist, he secretly sent a message to the people from inside the prison.
“Our main death is when we are hopeless”
Unfortunately, in recent days the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, through an unfair trial, has sentenced Toomaj to death solely for his civil activism, resistance in the pursuit of freedom, support for Iranian women and instilling hope. In a clear attempt to dissuade people from their demands for human rights, the leader of Iran seeks to exact severe revenge on the people of Iran by executing Toomaj. It should be noted that the Iranian government has executed protesters despite significant objections in the past.
Remember photographic voting ID is now law!
You must show an approved form of photo ID to vote at general elections and some others.
To find out more, visit:
