A woman protests against the death of Mahsa Amini, outside Iran's general consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo / AP
A woman protests against the death of Mahsa Amini, outside Iran's general consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo / AP
OPINION:
It has been more than a month since the start of what is now called a revolution in Iran.
September 16, 2022, the day a young girl (Mahsa Amini) was killed at the custody of the “morality police”, proved to be a turning point in the history of Iran.Protests against compulsory hijab rapidly turned into a revolution against the entire regime with its central theme of “women, life, freedom”.
The protests spread across the country, and people from all walks of life, teenage schoolgirls, university students, artists, oil industry workers, etc., joined the revolution. This uprising has been unprecedented in Iran and unique in the whole world for a number of reasons including its focus on women’s rights, its persistence, its lack of central leadership, its attainment of global solidarity, and the unity it has brought about among Iranians both at home and abroad.
For the first time in the last 43 years, Iranians in diaspora have united all their power and resources to support their people at home. They are all working together, regardless of their political differences, to raise public awareness about the situation in Iran and convince their governments to take a stance on the matter.
Iranian Kiwis, though forming a small population of the NZ society, have been vigorously active in various forms of campaigning to engage the NZ society and urge the government to take some actions on Iran including organising rallies, signing petitions, writing to the government and parliament, publishing articles, interviewing with media, etc.
Despite all their efforts, the only response Iranian Kiwis have received from the Government so far have been comments made to media by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on September 27, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs on September 28 as well as expressing concerns to the regime’s ambassador in NZ.
Though not enough, these could be heartwarming to the Iranian community if the Prime Minister had personally addressed the Iranian Kiwis and issued a statement condemning the violation of women’s rights/human rights in Iran. Given her global image as a defender of Muslim women’s right to wear hijab, Jacinda Ardern could be the best person to defend Iranian women’s right to freedom of choice, but instead, she preferred an expression of concern in response to a question at the press conference and a request from the murderous regime to make an investigation into Mahsa Amini’s death.
In contrast to this weak response from the Government and the Labour Party, some MPs from the opposition parties have done a good job defending Iranian people’s quest for freedom and democracy.
Simon O’Connor from National gave a strong speech in support of Iranian women’s rights (although controversial given his controversial tweet on the day of the Roe versus Wade decision) at the Iranian Kiwis’ rally at Mission Bay on October 9 and posted on his social media.
David Seymour, the leader of the Act Party, wrote a letter to Iran’s ambassador in Wellington expressing his concerns about the situation in Iran and requesting to have a meeting with him. Upon receiving an unsatisfactory response from the ambassador, Seymour issued a press release on October 11 saying, “A response from the Iranian Ambassador to a letter from the Act Party shows he has no place in New Zealand,” and asked for the expulsion of the regime’s ambassador.
Traditionally, it is the left-wing parties with social progressive principles that advocate for issues related to human/women rights, religious freedom, social justice, etc. But the situation is currently reversed in NZ.
The left-wing party in power turns a blind eye to the oppression and violation of human rights in Iran, and the right-wing parties with social conservative values that are not usually in favour of women’s rights stand in solidarity with the Iranian people.
This can be explained in two ways: either the glamour of power has changed the Labour MPs and their values and principles, or the meaning of left/right and progressive/conservative have recently changed.
Dr Forough Amin is the founder of Iranian Women in NZ.
