NYU students joined around 30 demonstrators in City Hall Park on Sunday to honor the two-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being detained by Iran’s morality police. Woman Life Freedom NYC, a citywide nonprofit advocating for women’s rights in Iran, organized the demonstration.
Attendees gathered in a circle and chanted phrases such as “Freedom for Iran” and “Say her name, Mahsa Amini,” several carrying Iran’s lion and sun flag as a symbol of opposition toward the Islamic Republic. Demonstrators also honored those killed after protesting the Iranian government by hanging their names on a nearby park fence.
Jasmine Nourisamie, a junior and member of NYU’s Persian Cultural Society, told WSN her aunt was imprisoned in Iran and her cousin lost their right to attend school after participating in anti-government protests.
“I see the trauma every day when I look at my parents — of living under a theocratic dictatorship where there’s no freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, no freedom of the press,” Nourisamie said. “I know what it’s like, and I always feel like I’m not doing enough, so the least I can do is be out here and show my support.”
Two years ago, Amini died in Tehran after being arrested for reportedly not wearing her hijab in accordance with government rules. Amini’s father and eyewitnesses said they saw officers beat her in a police van after the arrest, and she died in custody three days later. Her death sparked nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” demonstrations to protest gender-based violence against women under the Islamic Republic.
Almost two weeks after Amini’s death, NYU PCS held a vigil in Washington Square Park. The vigil preceded several citywide protests organized by Woman Life Freedom NYC, as well as a second on-campus demonstration where students urged NYU to send a universitywide email addressing the incident rather than just post a public statement regarding Amini’s death.
“It’s really important that we don’t forget what is going on in Iran,” Zahra, a participant who helped organize the Sunday demonstration, said in an interview with WSN. “We just want to make sure that the people inside of Iran know that people outside of Iran still support them and that we’re showing up for them, and that we are in solidarity with them in their plight to free their country.”
Contact Mariapaula Gonzalez at [email protected]
