The OU Iranian Student Association held a rally on campus Wednesday to support ongoing protests in Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman in morality police custody on Sept. 16.
Multiple demonstrators held up signs of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country’s hijab laws, which require women to wear the garment in public. She died in police custody, leading to nationwide protests.
The morality police said Amini went into heart failure, but Amini’s father claimed she was not in bad health in an interview with BBC. He said the family was not allowed to view her autopsy report and witnesses said she was beaten by police.
About 15 people were gathered at the rally, including Emily Elder, OU geology freshman, who said attending the rally was important to show support for the ongoing protests aimed at gaining freedom for women in Iran.
Waving an Iranian flag on the South Oval, Peyman Hekmatpour, OU graduate instructor, said the coordinated rally took place at over 150 universities worldwide. Several universities in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe coordinated to hold their campus rallies Wednesday.
Demonstrators during the campus rally for Iran on Nov. 30.
“All over the world, we're trying to raise awareness, so people know what's happening over there in Iran, because the situation is getting worse, and many people have been killed during these protests. Many are imprisoned and being tortured,” Hekmatpour said.
Iranian general Amir Ali Hajizadeh said more than 300 people have been killed because of the unrest, suggesting many casualties were Iranians who did not attend protests.
Before Iran’s national soccer team’s match against the U.S. in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, members of the team’s families were threatened with imprisonment and torture because the players refused to sing Iran’s national anthem before their first game. Iranians later celebrated their loss to the U.S. as an act against the Iranian government.
Delaram Nematollahi, a graduate research assistant in OU’s physics and astronomy department, said supporting the people of Iran is the bare minimum.
“They're missing their lives. What we can do is to just show them that we are here,” Nematollahi said. “Our voices need to be heard by whoever can help us make sure that everyone imprisoned by the Iranian government has help.”
Protests to overthrow Iran’s theocracy have continued in Iran for three months despite Iranian security forces using live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Mehrnaz Afkhami, a biology graduate teaching assistant, said she supports Iranian people whose lives are at risk.
“They're actually fighting with their lives and their government doesn’t really care about future lives, and they're killing young people,” Afkfami said. “We are here to give our voice, so we have this opportunity to be their voice so they can be heard.”
Hekmatpour said the rallies will continue to take place alongside other universities worldwide.
