Core principles

In recent weeks, the globe has watched a significant wave of protests in more than 100 Iranian cities. This uprising followed the tragic murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman seized by the so-called "morality police" in Tehran on September 13, 2022, for not wearing a "correct" hijab. She was proclaimed dead three days later, while in their custody. Mahsa's death prompted Iranian women to express their suppressed fury at being persecuted as second-class citizens for more than four decades.

So our short-term aim would be:

• Elevating the voice of Iranians fighting for freedom, many of whom have been imprisoned, intimidated, injured, or killed in recent weeks as a result of decades of persecution.

All universities, faculties, students, and staff are invited to join us in our efforts to help Iranian women and their peers. We must remember that, due to the government's enormous internet blockade, we are the only voice of Iranians living within the nation.

The story of the recent Iranian movement is like the final chapter of a long chain of events. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, there have been severe crackdowns on nonviolent protests by civilians and students, with some being forcibly imprisoned, kept prisoner, and shot at. Furthermore, inside and outside Iran, student activists are being harassed and threatened for simply expressing their beliefs. The most recent footage of the crackdown on Sharif University of Technology students protesting on the university campus on October 2nd, 2022, followed by other universities and institutes all across Iran, demonstrates horrific brutality in an attempt to instill fear and break the spirits of freedom fighters, particularly students.

Since October 2nd, many university campuses and schools have been targeted by regime police, and many students have been held hostage due to their anti-regime protests.

As a result, we are obliged to raise global awareness about events in Iran and support students and their rights.