Jina Mahsa Amini died at the age of 22 – because she wore her headscarf incorrectly. Now the Iranian has been posthumously honored with the Sakharov Prize from the EU Parliament. Amini’s parents were not there; they were prevented from leaving Iran.
The young Iranian Jina Mahsa Amini has been posthumously honored with the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. “She gave her life for freedom in Iran,” said Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola in Strasbourg. “Her voice was carried around the world.” This was the beginning of the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.
Amini died in police custody at the age of 22 after she was arrested and beaten by the so-called moral police for allegedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly. Her death sparked massive protests in Iran, with women at the forefront. They are protesting against the hijab law and other discriminatory regulations.
“Women, Life, Freedom” also honored
The feminist movement “Women, Life, Freedom” was also awarded the Sakharov Human Rights Prize. The award was accepted by Iranian women’s rights activists Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar as well as the Amini family’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht.
Mersedeh Shahinkar, Afsoon Najafi and Saleh Nikbakht
Afsoon Najafi is Amini’s sister and lives in exile. Her parents and brother were prevented from leaving Iran for the award ceremony.
The Amini family’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, read a letter from Amini’s mother in which she compared her daughter to Joan of Arc. Both died for freedom and have now united for centuries with a message of salvation of justice, peace, equality and togetherness. “Jina’s name, like Joan of Arc’s, will remain a symbol of freedom.”
“Your courage will prevail because your goal is right”
Addressing activists Najafi and Shahinkar, Parliament Speaker Metsola said they had been forced to leave their country in order to continue their fight for truth and justice. They were threatened, persecuted and convicted in absentia. They would have paid a very high price and still continued to campaign for equality. “Your courage will prevail because your goal is right.”
In Strasbourg, the two activists remembered the approximately 500 protesters killed, the thousands imprisoned and the ongoing human rights violations. Najafi called on European politicians not to shake hands with representatives of the Iranian regime. The repression that comes from them is known.
Mersedeh Shahinkar, who lost an eye during the protests, said women in Iran were being deprived of their basic rights. “But we have the right to live, like women in other countries.” She asked for more support for the Iranian people.
EU Parliament wants to tighten sanctions
Parliament President Metsola stated that the European Parliament is committed to tightening sanctions against the Iranian regime. The MPs also sought to include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s powerful army, on the list of terrorist organizations.
In addition to Amini and the Iranian women’s movement, human rights activist Vilma Núñez de Escorcia and Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos from Nicaragua were nominated, as were three women fighting for free, safe and legal abortion in Poland, El Salvador and the USA.
The prize, named after the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989), has been awarded annually since 1988 to people and organizations who support human rights and fundamental freedoms. The award is endowed with 50,000 euros.
Kathrin Schmid, ARD Brussels, tagesschau, December 12, 2023 2:00 p.m