Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has expressed her solidarity with the women and adolescent girls participating in protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran. She said the demonstrations, initially sparked by economic hardship, cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on women in the country.
In a post on social media platform X, Malala noted that the protests also reflect widespread resistance to controls imposed on women’s freedom, including in education and other spheres of life. “Iranian girls want a life of dignity,” she wrote.
Malala said that for decades, the Iranian people have been deprived of freedom of expression. She described the restrictions imposed on women as part of a broader system of gender-based control, enforced through segregation, surveillance, and punishment.
She added that Iranian women are demanding to be heard and to have the right to determine their own political future. According to Malala, Iran’s future must not be shaped by external enemies or repressive rulers, but by the leadership of Iranian women themselves.
Concluding her post on Tuesday, Malala wrote, “I stand with the people of Iran and with Iranian girls in their demands for freedom and dignity. They have the right to determine their own future.”
Malala Yousafzai has spoken out on Iran’s situation on several occasions. Most recently, in December, she joined the Norwegian Nobel Committee in condemning the arrest of Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi.
Source: Dawn.