New Zealanders joined the global outcry Saturday over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who collapsed while in police custody in Iran.
The Kurdish woman was arrested under Iran’s harsh hijab laws and was allegedly beaten to death by the country's morality police.
Amini died in Tehran a week ago with her supposed crime being wearing a hijab in a looser manner than Iran’s authorities could accept.
Across New Zealand, protestors gathered to show their grief for Amini’s death and to stand in solidarity with Iran’s women.
Protests were held today in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with hundreds of people issuing strong cries of condemnation.
“We are here to show our solidarity with women and people in Iran fighting for their freedom, to pay tributes to Mahsa Amini the 22-year-old,” said Wellington Protest organiser Hanna Habibi.
In Auckland, protestors stood in Aotea Square holding signs, flags and pictures of Amini and in Wellington, women cut their hair, a Kurdish tradition showing their outrage for what happened.
"The courage that women in Iran are showing right now is breathtaking," said Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman.
"They are facing torture and death, they have been killed and tortured for this, and they persist," she said.
Many of those who attended the protests are Iranian migrants and are calling on the New Zealand government to take action and publicly condemn Iran for what happened.
“When the Christchurch attacks happened we stood by New Zealanders, it’s now your turn to stand by us,” said one protester at the Auckland Rally.
Ghahraman said she was "really disappointed that our Government has not made any kind of a statement on what's happening in Iran."
In Iran, anti-government protests have been demonstrating all week, sick of what they've endured under the current regime.
Unlike New Zealand, protests in Iran have not been peaceful, with police and demonstrators clashing in the street.
Iranian state media is reporting that at least 35 people have died during the violent clashes.
Many in the country see Amini’s death as an opportunity to rise up against a government that has oppressed them for years.
Iran hasn’t seen unrest like this since 2019 when security forces killed 1500 protesters who had taken to the streets demonstrating against skyrocketing fuel prices.
Some are likening this latest unrest to a revolution in women's rights, comparing the images coming out of Iran, to the 1979 uprising that led to the overthrow of the government.
“This revolution is unmatched... it is led by women and to see young women on the street of Iran with no hijab, is chilling and exhilarating for those of us who are Iranian,” said Gharamahn.
Behrouz Boochani a Kurdish-Iranian writer said: “I think it is very different, I think we won't go back, it's really different, we really don't know how long it takes, but now I think it's a really big moment it's a big change in the history of Iran.”
Protests are being held across 13 cities in Iran and have been followed by internet and social media blackouts. Human rights group Amnesty International has reported security forces using violence to disperse the protesters.
New Zealand has imposed a number of sanctions against Iran over the years with asset freezes, weapon bans and travel restrictions.
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