Indianapolis, Indiana – A small group of protesters gathered at Monument Circle on Friday night to demonstrate their support for Iranian protesters.
The Hoosiers claim to support women’s freedom and rights, but that is where their commonalities end. While some want the peace to return, others want the monarchy to be restored. Some favor an all-out revolution.
This week, hundreds of Iranians participated in anti-government demonstrations, and turmoil was witnessed as a result of the murder of a young woman who was being detained by the morality police. State TV reported late on Friday that the preliminary death toll from this week’s turmoil had been raised from 26 to 35.
Hessam Alizadeh, a Monument Circle demonstrator in favor of peace, said, “We are here in solidarity with the men and women in Iran in whatever they demand from the government.”
These demonstrations were spurred by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman held by the police. According to reports, she was detained by the morality police after being accused of wearing her hijab improperly.
“This is exactly the way we want to dress in Iran in our home country,” Alizadeh said. “Our people back home, want to dress like this, normal clothes. Even I, as a guy, cannot wear shorts on the street in Iran.”
Demonstrators yelled “women, life, freedom” as they called for equality regardless of gender.
One of the protesters who wish to see these demonstrations develop further is Parisa Keywansard. She desires the restoration of the monarchy in Iran.
“This is not just for women, for the hair. No, this is for everyone in Iran,” Keywansard said. “They are torturing. They tortured me when I was 16 years old because I showed my hair just a little bit and had lipstick. This is not right. This is the 21st century. They cannot tell us what to do. They want to control us.”
Others at the Monument Circle gathering brought images of the protestors in Iran and called for a total overthrow of the current theocratic government.
Mehdi Shafiee is one who would like to see a revolution. He said, “Women, life, freedom. Women, life, freedom. Women have been the people that suffered most from this Islamic regime and they want life, they want economy, and they want a good standard of life for themselves and for their children. They don’t have it and, on top of all of that, they do not have the freedom to express themselves. They do not want this regime. We do not want this regime.”
