Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Activists Around the World: Masih Alinejad

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Activists Around the World: Masih Alinejad · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Steph.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: We never told you a protection of iHeart Radio, and
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: welcome back to another edition of Activists around the World.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: And first and foremost, Annie, thanks so much for taking
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: on the last minute episode last week. For those of
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: you who are listening in order, y'all are like what
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Because I was actually sick recently in December two. Again,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: people are like what, um, And uh, yeah, it kicked
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  Speaker 1: my butt and I was not too well, so I
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  Speaker 1: missed all y'all. Thank you Annie, But I'm back. Yes, everyone,
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  Speaker 1: We're at it again again. Okay, Yeah, Today we wanted
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  Speaker 1: to bring more focus on the Iranian people and the
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  Speaker 1: women who continue need to fight and push forward the
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  Speaker 1: revolution occurring in Iran, and just a quick summary of
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  Speaker 1: what we've heard is happening as of today again December two.
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  Speaker 1: We've done a few, uh small snippets of what's going
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  Speaker 1: on um as outsiders that meaning we're in the US
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  Speaker 1: and don't exactly know what's going on. But just a
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  Speaker 1: quick update of what's happening as we know it. And
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  Speaker 1: for anyone who wants to add or give us more information,
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  Speaker 1: please please contact us. I know there's a lot of
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  Speaker 1: gull out there who are a little more connected and
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  Speaker 1: able to get direct sources, so please let us know. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: Currently a strike has been occurring in Iran, causing a
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  Speaker 1: big impact in the economy of Iran, with many of
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  Speaker 1: the businesses closing the last couple of days um, as
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  Speaker 1: well as people marching into Hran in silence to Asad Plaza.
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  Speaker 1: So it's pretty significant. People are coming out in support.
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  Speaker 1: Even though from what I understand, Iran has shut down
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  Speaker 1: a lot of social media outlets. Uh, they're still getting
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  Speaker 1: the word out and coming out in droves. Yeah, which
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  Speaker 1: is impressive because reports from the regime say, you know,
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  Speaker 1: this is ending or it's been resolved, it's over. But
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  Speaker 1: many have reported that this was a manipulative tactic by
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  Speaker 1: the government to change the narrative for those watching internationally.
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  Speaker 1: With the continued social media outage and arrest and executions,
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  Speaker 1: information has been inconsistent but not completely stopped as word
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  Speaker 1: has spread through many people outside of the country. But
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  Speaker 1: one thing we know, the protest, Yeah, they haven't stopped,
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  Speaker 1: and the women and teens continue to lead and push
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  Speaker 1: forward in this movement and the revolution continues. Right, and
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  Speaker 1: as we talked about before protests in Iran is not new.
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  Speaker 1: As the current protests have grown to become this revolution,
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  Speaker 1: we know it's been something that many Iranian women have
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  Speaker 1: been working for their entire lives. And it's also just
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  Speaker 1: a note. There's a lot of conversation about the executions
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  Speaker 1: of protesters today and including charges for war against God
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  Speaker 1: that are not being fairly tried. There's a lot of
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  Speaker 1: things happening, and we know recently there's been some executions
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  Speaker 1: that have happened, so we definitely want to acknowledge that
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  Speaker 1: big things are happening. But yes, so sad has been
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  Speaker 1: something that has been occurring for decades and um many
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  Speaker 1: of the people who have been at the forefront of
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  Speaker 1: this has been the Iranian women, even though they know
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  Speaker 1: how dangerous it is to oppose the regime in Iran,
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  Speaker 1: and one of these women is Mussie Elena Jade. Elena
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  Speaker 1: Jade is an activist, a journalist, and an author who's
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  Speaker 1: been working for the rights of women in Iran, even
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  Speaker 1: with the many threats she's been under with the current
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  Speaker 1: Iranian regime. Alena Jadd has been an activist for a
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  Speaker 1: majority of her life. In Lena Jade was arrested for
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  Speaker 1: providing leaflets that criticized the current government at the time,
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  Speaker 1: and has been publishing articles and think pieces breaking down
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  Speaker 1: the Iranian regimes and it's many problems. She worked as
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  Speaker 1: a journalist for many Iranian publications, including the Iranian Labor
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  Speaker 1: News Agency or the i l n A, and also
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  Speaker 1: served as a parliamentary reporter, but wrote an article suggesting
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  Speaker 1: that the government ministers should just even pay cut, which
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  Speaker 1: caused enough controversy for her to be dismissed, but that
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  Speaker 1: did not deter her from pushing against the Iranian government.
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  Speaker 1: Comparing supporters of the current president in two thousand and eight,
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  Speaker 1: too hungry allowed dolphins who worked to please their trainer,
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  Speaker 1: she would not back down from calling out the corruption
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  Speaker 1: within the political systems of ourn even though I will
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  Speaker 1: say that the publisher the owner of the publisher did
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  Speaker 1: have to apologize for fear of being shut down in
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  Speaker 1: their lives, she did not back down, as in fact,
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  Speaker 1: she has been in exile um for several years now,
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  Speaker 1: given to the point that she has not seen her
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  Speaker 1: family and I believe over thirteen fourteen years, and it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't two thousand nine, during her trip to the United States,
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  Speaker 1: Alina Jade tried to get an interview with President Barack Obama,
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  Speaker 1: but was refused and had to return to the United
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  Speaker 1: Kingdom Um. And even though she wasn't able to see
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  Speaker 1: President Obama, she was able to use her time in
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  Speaker 1: the US to rally against the Iranian government. It was
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  Speaker 1: there she delivered a speech where she called out the
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  Speaker 1: Iranian authorities quote we have trembled for thirty years. Now
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  Speaker 1: it's your turn to tremble um. And it was in
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  Speaker 1: her now infamous picture of her running down the streets
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  Speaker 1: of London with her hair flowing in the breeze became
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  Speaker 1: a symbol for so many Iranian women seeking liberation from
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  Speaker 1: the dictatorship of the Iranian regime. And it was then
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  Speaker 1: she created the My Stealthy Freedom Organization, and this organization
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  Speaker 1: became one of the largest quote civil disobedience campaigns to
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  Speaker 1: challenge the compulsory hid job laws in Iran. And just
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  Speaker 1: to note, she is very absolutely talking about the oppressiveness
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  Speaker 1: of these job laws and what it indicates, and doesn't
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  Speaker 1: think that people shouldn't wear them. It's just about choice,
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  Speaker 1: and she is very very adamant that yes it is
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  Speaker 1: it can be about these things. But what we're looking
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  Speaker 1: at is how it represents UH the oppression of women
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  Speaker 1: and many of those marginalized communities in Iran. Mm hmmm um.
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  Speaker 1: And and this campaign continues to go is strong with
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  Speaker 1: other initiatives including My Forbidden Voice, My Camera is My Weapon,
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  Speaker 1: and the White Wednesday campaign where quote women who protest
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  Speaker 1: compulsory her job laws where white to show defiance to
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  Speaker 1: the laws UH. Currently, the campaign social media following is
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  Speaker 1: more than seven million strong, with around of the followers
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  Speaker 1: being in Iran. UM and her works have been noticed.
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  Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, she met with Secretary of State Mike
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  Speaker 1: Pompeo and many others to speak to them about a
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  Speaker 1: lot of issues and concerns with the Iranian regime, including
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  Speaker 1: the human rights violations and how travel bands that were
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  Speaker 1: placed by the U. S Government continued to hurt human
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  Speaker 1: rights activists and students in Iran. Yeah, and I believe
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  Speaker 1: it was that time she actually brought out a lawsuit
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  Speaker 1: against the Iranian government. So she's been doing some things.
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  Speaker 1: In a Lena job to east her memoir The Wind
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  Speaker 1: in My Hair, when she talked about her life in
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  Speaker 1: Northern Iran and how she followed her career and her
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  Speaker 1: passion and fighting for the rights for Iranians, which quote
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  Speaker 1: sparked a nationwide protest movement that's part of our book.
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  Speaker 1: Um And with her work comes a price. The Iranian
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  Speaker 1: regime has continued to degrade her name, making fox allegations,
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  Speaker 1: photo shopping inappropriate pictures, showing them to her family, saying
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  Speaker 1: these are the things that she's doing threatening her family.
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  Speaker 1: UM if her brother had actually been arrested for foiling
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  Speaker 1: a plot to kidnap her essentially UM and has been
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  Speaker 1: separated from them for quite some times. As we talked
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  Speaker 1: about there was an attempted kidnapping of her according to
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  Speaker 1: the d o J. Which was that kidnapping we just
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  Speaker 1: talked about for a brother to be arrested UM and
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  Speaker 1: even attempted assassination as recently as July of this year
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  Speaker 1: two and the FBI informed her that quote this time
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  Speaker 1: there the Iranian regime objective was to kill you. And
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  Speaker 1: she's currently I believe under in hiding. Wow Uh, she
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  Speaker 1: says of her current situation, I am not scared. I
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  Speaker 1: feel guilty when I talk about my personal life because
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  Speaker 1: people in Iran are being killed in the streets. Mine
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  Speaker 1: is just a tiny example of the brutality of this
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  Speaker 1: murderous regime. And this is not about me. I'm just
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  Speaker 1: giving voice to brave Iranian women and men who are
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  Speaker 1: saying no to the Islamic Republic. It's not scary for
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  Speaker 1: me to get shot or killed. What is scary is
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  Speaker 1: seeing leaders of democratic countries shaking the hand of those
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  Speaker 1: who kill my people are those who want to kill me.
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  Speaker 1: And in another interview, she talked about what was currently
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  Speaker 1: happening in Iran and said there's unity between the Iranian
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  Speaker 1: people and the Western people who care about democracy. This
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  Speaker 1: is a revolution against autocracy, against dictatorship, and it should
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  Speaker 1: be supported by anyone who cares about democracy. As recently
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  Speaker 1: she went to Paris to meet with Prime Minister mccrawn
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  Speaker 1: to doing something more fierce in order to help the
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  Speaker 1: Iranian people um and trying to get more sanctions in
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  Speaker 1: place that won't hurt the people of Iran but actually
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  Speaker 1: like will affect the government. So there's a lot that
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  Speaker 1: she's doing even during this time of threat for her.
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  Speaker 1: And just recently, Elena Jade was awarded with the Washington
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  Speaker 1: Institute Prestigious Scholar Statesman Award, where she talked about what
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  Speaker 1: is currently happening in Iran, and she said, quote, I
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  Speaker 1: have to say that the revolution, a historical revolution, is
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  Speaker 1: taking place in Iran, which is being led by women
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  Speaker 1: but supported by men. For years and years, I've been
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  Speaker 1: warning about the dangers of the morality police and the
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  Speaker 1: hijab laws. But the brutal death of Massa Amini, a
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  Speaker 1: twenty year old Kurdish woman, created huge anger because she
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  Speaker 1: was not a part of the civil disobedience protests. She
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  Speaker 1: was not even unveiled. She was just wearing an inappropriate
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  Speaker 1: hid job. And she continues on, Yes, it started because
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  Speaker 1: of protesting against compulsory hijab laws and protesting against the
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  Speaker 1: brutal death of Massa Amini, But it's all about getting
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  Speaker 1: rid of a gender apartheid regime. The compulsory hid job
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  Speaker 1: is not just a small piece of cloth when it's
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  Speaker 1: in the hands of the Islamic Republic or the Taliban
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  Speaker 1: or Isis is one of the most visible symbols of
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  Speaker 1: oppression and the main pillar of religious dictatorship. So that's
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  Speaker 1: why the Iranian people are getting killed every day. They
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  Speaker 1: made up their mind and they're taking back the streets
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  Speaker 1: every single day to end such a barbaric regime. This
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  Speaker 1: is all I can say to you. More than three
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  Speaker 1: people have been killed, fifteen thousand people have been arrested.
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  Speaker 1: Schoolgirls are in prison, teenagers are in prison. But the
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  Speaker 1: more people that the Iranian regime kills, the more people
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  Speaker 1: are determined to end this regime. This is just the
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  Speaker 1: beginning of the end, the end of one of the
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  Speaker 1: most dangerous regimes, which is called Islamic Republic. And when
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: receiving the reward, she stated, quote, I dedicate them this
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  Speaker 1: metal to the brave women of Iran, to my heroes,
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  Speaker 1: to the leaders who live inside Iran, who face guns
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  Speaker 1: and bullets every day. They actually are saying a simple
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  Speaker 1: thing quote woman, life, freedom. And they're not just fighting
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  Speaker 1: for themselves. They're fighting for democracy, for dignity and freedom.
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  Speaker 1: They are fighting for the whole world. And she continues
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: to speak out even though still is under threat, and
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  Speaker 1: her continued perseverance has earned her numerous positions and accoades,
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  Speaker 1: including the Geneva's Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, Women's
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  Speaker 1: Rights Award, the Ohmed Journalism Award from the Medis Simpsar Foundation,
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  Speaker 1: a quote highly commended a i B Media Excellence Award,
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  Speaker 1: and also in twenty two, she was awarded the American
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  Speaker 1: Jewish Committee's Moral Courage Award for speaking out for Uranian people. Right,
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  Speaker 1: and she is obviously still doing a lot of work
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: with our journalism. Um. I believe she's working with a
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  Speaker 1: human rights campaign as well, So she's doing a lot. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: yeah she is, Yeah she is. Um, it's another one
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  Speaker 1: where I'm like, we gotta add that book to our
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: book club. We're gonna come back and revisit this. But yes,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: as Samantha said, if you listeners have any more resources information,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: people we should talk to you, please, please please let
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: us know people we should highlight in the segment. You
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: can emails that stuff in your mom Stuff at ihart
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: media dot com. You can find us on Twitter at
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: mom Stuff podcast or Instagram and stuff whate Never Told You.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Thanks as always to our super producer Christina. Thank you, Christina,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening Stuff I've Never Told You.
• 12:05
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