SWEDEN: During a speech in the EU assembly, a Swedish MEP chopped off her hair in support of the anti-government protests that started in Iran after Mahsa Amini, died while in the custody of the morality police.
Regarding the anti-hijab protests in Iran, Abir al-Sahlani stated, “We, the people and citizens in the EU, demand the unconditional and immediate cessation of all violence against women and men in Iran.”
Sahlani, a member of the centrist Renew group, made the following statement late on Tuesday: “We, the people and citizens of the EU, demand an unconditional and immediate cease to all violence against women and men in Iran.”
She then cut off her ponytail while uttering the Kurdish phrase “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi,” which translates to “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
“The tradition of cutting off one’s hair in protest is thousands of years old. It shows that anger is stronger than the power of the oppressor. Iran’s women have had enough. The EU should show the same courage and give them full support,” she tweeted.
One of the most iconic images of the protests in Iran that started last month was of women taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair.
They were sparked by the death of Amini, 22, who was detained by Iran’s “morality police,” who enforced a strict dress code that prohibited women from wearing their hair exposed in public.
The parliamentary demonstration took place on the same day that French actresses, including Isabelle Huppert, Juliette Binoche, and Marion Cotillard, appeared in an Instagram video cutting their hair with Iranian women protesters over Amini’s death after she was detained in Tehran on September 13 for “inappropriate attire.”
The Swedish MP later charged that Josep Borrell, head of EU diplomacy, had failed to “take a position for the women in Iran” during the most recent UN General Assembly in Strasbourg.
“It’s time to voice your opinion. It’s time to take action. The Iranian mullahs’ regime’s hands are covered in blood,” she spoke.
Borrell claimed that in response to Iran’s crackdown, which has resulted in dozens of fatalities and hundreds of arrests, the EU is considering “restrictive measures” to impose sanctions on Iran.
Since her death, Iran’s clerical leaders have had to deal with the country’s worst domestic turmoil in years. In support of Iranian protesters, demonstrations have also extended to London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid.
In a speech at the EU parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Sahlani praised the “three weeks of continuous fortitude demonstrated by the ladies of Iran.”
Also Read: Iran Protests Rage as Mahsa Amini’s Father Says Authorities Lied About Her Death
