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Iranwire – In a powerful display of support for the women-led protest movement in Iran, 50 “art performance protesters” will march through central London on September 13 while holding 10 posters depicting Mahsa Amini.
A bigger protest is scheduled three days later to mark the first anniversary of the 22-year-old woman’s death in police custody, which sparked monthslong anti-establishment protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes.
The participants in the first rally will be wearing black clothes in solidarity with the victims of the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown on the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement.
The activist group Stage of Freedom selected 10 portraits of Amini after calling on the public to send them drawings, paintings or digital art featuring the young woman, Ellie Borhan, the organizer of the event, told IranWire.
The protesters will convene outside Parliament Square at 10 a.m., with their march scheduled to start at around 11 a.m.
They will march past the British Prime Minister’s Office in Downing Street, before making a brief stop at Trafalgar Square and engage with the media. From there, they will continue their rally toward Piccadilly, where they plan to halt for a 10-minute break.
Their next destination will be the bustling Oxford Street, followed by Hyde Park Corner. From there, they will proceed to the Islamic Republic’s embassy.
“We anticipate that additional participants will join us as we progress,” Borhan said.
“Along the route, we will distribute flyers to invite people to the main protest scheduled for September 16th, which commemorates Mahsa Amini’s anniversary of death,” she continued, adding: “We are not associated with any political group.”
The second rally will kick off outside the Islamic Republic’s embassy at 1 p.m.
“There have been some big movements like Black Life Matters or Unity for Ukraine in recent times,” Borhan said. “Women, Life, Freedom has created a unity which is not only for Iranians. It has become a movement to say no to every repression.”
Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were detained in the crackdown unleashed by the Iranian authorities on the protest movement. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
“The international community, human rights organizations and women’s rights groups must be more vocal and hold the Islamic Republic accountable for their crimes against humanity,” Borhan said.
“The cold-blooded murderers who killed so many unarmed civilians since the start of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement in September 2022, many of whom were minors, this is a crime against humanity,” she insisted.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Stage of Freedom staged the “Handmaids’ March” in central London to show solidarity with Iranian women risking their lives to protest gender discrimination and demand more freedoms.
For more than four decades, women in Iran have been subjected to discriminatory treatment regarding employment, education and inheritance, among other things. All women must conceal their hair with a headscarf, or hijabs, while in public and wear loose fitting trousers under their coats.
“We will stand until the end and we will take Iran back,” Borhan said.
