'Rising against tyranny': Protesters gather at UCC to protest injustice happening in Iran
It’s been 75 days since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the hands of so-called morality police in Iran.
Iranians around the world and here in London, Ont. have been relentlessly rallying to keep her memory alive in hopes of sparking policy changes back home.
On Nov. 30, emotions ran high, as dozens gathered outside the Western University Community Center, at a student-run Iranian rally.
Those in attendance said events like the one held on Wednesday is their only hope that their loved ones back home will one day be freed from persecution and repression.
A first-year international relations student who requested to be identified only be her initials for fear of repercussion, H.I., couldn’t hold back tears.
“I think it’s a really big privilege that I get to be here. I am so grateful for all the Iranians who are fighting back home, and my family, and I just hope that they’re safe,” she said.
Dozens gathered outside the University’s Community Center to protest the injustice happening in Iran.
Dozens gathered outside Western University's Community Centre for an Iran rally held in London, Ont. on Nov. 30, 2022. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)
Protesters said they have mixed feelings about the events happening back home. On one hand, the level of political consciousness in Iran has never been better.
“The youth of Iran are rising against tyranny, dictatorship and all the brutalities that people of Iran suffered in the last 44 years,” said Iranian-Canadian Western University Professor of Mathematics Masoud Khalkhali.
But on the other hand — they are concerned about loss of life in Iran.
“The brutality of the regime is endless, and many of my friends, former classmates are arrested and are in jail,” said first-year international student from Iran, Paria Rahimi.
Rahimi said the very activism that they are able to forge here in Canada has extreme consequences back home for protesters.
Dozens gathered outside Western University's Community Centre for an Iran rally held in London, Ont. on Nov. 30, 2022. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)
Over the past two-and-a-half months, Iranians and supporters have been protesting against the country’s morality police, a group that targets Iranian women who disobey the country’s dress code, one that requires all women to wear a headscarf and loose-fitting clothing in public.
Among the many chants heard on Wednesday was, “Say her name, Mahsa Amini.”
Amini died this past September, after being taken into custody by the morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.
“Women, life, freedom…it’s a slogan that Iranians have been chanting in the past 75 days in response to the Islamic Republic regime’s senseless violations of human rights,” said Rahimi during a speech at the event.
Organizer said protests like the one held on Wednesday — and the many that have been held in the last couple of months here in London — are a show of solidarity with the Iranian people who are standing up for women like Mahsa Amini.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'