Five Things (9.23.22)

For Mahsa Amini.

Image by Sho Shibuya, ft. the work of Edith Dekyndt (Ombre Indigène Part 2, 2014)

1. Here’s an overview of what’s happening around the world. Tell me why every news outlet chose to dedicate so much time and resources following Queen Elizabeth’s funeral proceedings (predominantly centering the coverage around Meghan Markle and British royalty gossip) over the devastation in Puerto Rico.

2. If you’ve been vehemently against TikTok for whatever (stubborn) reason, now is the time to create an account. This is the only place you can get news in real time and interact in an impactful way, even from across the world, simply by watching, saving, and boosting the stories of people who need amplification. Brave Iranian women are documenting the protests and injustices following the wrongful death of Mahsa Amini. They need our support and our voices; they deserve global solidarity.

3. What’s happening right now in Iran—the police brutality, news suppression, restricted access to social media platforms, an Internet shutdown—on top of the everyday oppression living under a theocracy is a direct assault on human rights. It’s crucial, however, to recognize that European and American governments have (selectively) weaponized this for decades to demonize the Middle East in order to justify their wars. Civil liberties were never the true concern, power was—and because of the protests, it’s imperative that we do not conflate the hijab as a threat to democracy. The compulsory headscarf law is. The regime is.

4. Iranian artist Shirin Neshat’s Women of Allah series comes to mind, a body of work that captures the disjunction of feminism and fundamentalism, and the East versus the West. It’s evocative and chilling. More info, here.

5. I can’t find the words to describe how I feel seeing, watching, hearing these rallies and cries. All I know is that I would not, and simply do not, have the courage Iranian women have—protesting or not. Both the fight and restraint they possess are powerful.

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xx