Statement by ROSA International
After the killing of Zhina Amini: Solidarity with women, LGBTQI+ and all oppressed in Iran! Zhina was murdered by the so-called "morality police" because she was not wearing her hijab according to the rules. She was murdered because she was a woman. The 22 year old Kurdish woman was arrested in Tehran and beaten so brutally that she died shortly after in hospital. Police still maintain that she died of a heart attack. The funeral in Zhina's hometown turned into a radical protest that is spreading to other cities. Women are taking off their headscarves and shouting "Death to the dictator." They are not letting arrests and brutal repression stop them. Kurdish organizations have called for a general strike today. The oppression of the Kurds in Iran can only be ended through solidarity from below, from the working class. Independent unions across the country should join this call. The explosive strike and protest movements of the last months and years show how hated and unstable the criminal regime is. ROSA international stands side by side with the courageous women, LGBTQI+, workers and all the oppressed in Iran. The Iranian regime needs the violent oppression of women and control over their bodies, clothing and lives. Just last week, two LGBTQI+ activists were sentenced to death. They know that women have always been at the forefront of the struggle against the regime and are trying to break that power. Especially the militant Kurdish women's movement against Islamist forces & capitalism is a thorn in their side. The struggle against the Islamist dress codes goes hand in hand with the struggle against the entire regime, the corrupt elites and the capitalist system that means increasing poverty, hunger and misery for the masses in Iran - especially for women. Fighting for justice for Zhina means building a movement that can end gender based violence and state violence and the deep-seated inequality and misogyny by overthrowing the regime! International solidarity from below is more urgent than ever: no trust in the Western, imperialist powers that have plunged the entire region into war and destruction. They have no interest in real liberation of women in Iran and internationally. Only the women and working masses themselves can end female infanticide, oppression and exploitation. "Woman, Life, Freedom" and "Death to the Dictator"!