Stop Violence against Women

Although I am away from Iran, I could not ignore what happened to Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing a hijab (a kind of Islamic headscarf) and, two hours later, was taken to the hospital with bruises on her face before eventually being pronounced dead. 

Terrible as it this episode was, non-compliance with religious tradition was not the only issue, but rather the same violence against a woman which affects all of us worldwide. We can no longer stand for sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

In my country, Brazilians are also beaten up by their husbands, partners or boyfriends, for example after having a quarrel about jealousy; or due to the aggressors' frustrated lives, they take it out on women in a blind drunk state. Whatever the case may be, there is no justification ,whatsoever, for this violence. The victims have been taking courage to stand up to the bullies and turning them into the police.

By the way, I would dare tell you that if it were the woman's wish, she could go for a stroll naked in any public place and nobody could touch her body without her consent. Therefore, besides having the rights to her body, sexuality and experiencing pleasure, every woman has the free will to make choices about her studies, her occupation, her clothes, and so on.

Women have been struggling for gender equality in society for hundreds of years. Let's change the mindset of putting them in a submissive position. We cannot allow the death of Mahsa Amini to be just one more statistic.