Amir Nasr-Azadani, an Iranian soccer player, will be sentenced to 26 years in jail. This is not because he was a terrible player in the World Cup, but because he joined millions of others in protesting for women’s rights in Iran. If not for his fame, he would surely have been sentenced to death, like many of his fellow protestors. 

After Iran’s “morality police” murdered Mahsa Amini for not wearing her hijab correctly, the country flung into chaos. Protestors, consisting mainly of younger generations, took to the streets to cry their discontent for the government. Although young women took the initiative, everyone from men to women and rich to poor have joined in with them. 

While previous protests were led in large cities, Amini’s death has sparked protests all across the country, even in the most conservative and traditional areas of Iran. In the streets, women are publicly defying the strict “moral” dress codes set forth by the regime. Many have burnt their hijabs as a sign of revolt and even cut their own hair. Others defaced government property and images glorifying the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. 

At the World Cup, Iran’s soccer team refused to sing the national anthem while spectators yelled harsh phrases against Khamenei. Europeans and Westerners have voiced support for the protests from abroad. Many have described this as the largest protests since the Islamic Revolution as some are protesting to topple the Islamic Republic outright. 

The injustice in Iran is gruesomely real and documented throughout social media. Some estimate that 20,000 protesters have been arrested and another 500 have been killed. The numbers vary slightly from source to source due to Iran’s harsh censorship. With such inhuman actions, world leaders are left to ponder their reaction to Iran’s crimes. 

In December, the United Nations voted to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, making it the first ever country to be removed from the commission. The European Union has also voted to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of Iran’s military, as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, the United States has been trying to give prominent tech companies licenses to operate in Iran, effectively letting Iranians circumvent censorship and report the truth. 

The US has also tightened economic sanctions against Iran, effectively stopping the country from receiving any US dollars. This is great, but it isn’t enough. What else can be done? As American citizens and residents, we don’t think that there is much we can do. Afterall, as individuals, we can’t control international policy. However, we can influence it by banding together in protests or simply sharing news articles on the development of Iran’s situation.