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How Women Turned Iran's Opposition Into a Political Force · The TalkBlock Show's Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: As you mentioned, in 2025, there is a dream executive 2,200 people in money.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And in January, in we saw the brutal crackdown of thousands of people who were killed.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For over 20 years, the I mean resistance has clearly stated that the solution to Iran is neither war nor it is the network of the media resistance, which works underground in Iran.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: We are based up against a hundred screen.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: So day one, one of the main targets of the solution has been the women of your bugs.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But the women of your bugs of day one has number two.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you want the last 12 years of stuff, we have been a 50 news phenomenon.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: An Iranian human rights advocate and prominent voice for justice, democracy, and women's rights in Iran.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: Today we will discuss the current crisis in Iran, the role of women in the resistance, and the path toward a democratic republic.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: Dal, welcome to the show.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Please allow me to greet those who are tuning in to the podcast today.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure to be with you and looking forward to the discussion.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: My pleasure.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: When discussing Iran, many people see the solution only in foreign intervention.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_03: And some people in um counting their current status at core in hope of uh creating some change through diplomacy.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: What is your take on this and uh what do you see uh as the solution?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_03: Because uh you're from uh from Iran, you probably know the mentality, the government and everything is what is your what is your solution?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: How do how do you think well I think that's a great question because I think that is a concern that many in the international community have these days.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: The reality is that not just from today, but because of our understanding of the nature of the Iranian regime and the geopolitics of the region, um for over 20 years the Iranian resistance has clearly stated that the solution to Iran is neither war nor appeasement.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's to support the people of Iran to bring about change.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this was first said by Mrs.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Majari, she's the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at the European Parliament almost 23 years ago.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And she clarified that appeasement will eventually let lead to a war.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And war is n not going to be the solution to Iran, um, both if you look at it from a historic perspective, but also if you understand just uh the geography of Iran and the structure of Iran, you'd know that that couldn't uh lead to any um regime change uh really unless it's like a poll on war, and that that is also not the solution.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And also, if you look at the last 100 years experienced in Iran, the people of Iran have been fighting for their freedom since if we consider the 1906 constitutional revolution for 120 years, and unfortunately, every time because of foreign intervention, their revolutions or their uprisings have not succeeded.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why that is not the solution to Iran.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you look at just the past um forty years, um, since the eighties, the Iranian regime has used diplomacy to extend its lifeline, especially because it is the number one state sponsor of international terrorism.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so one of the things that they they do publicly now is um you know, hostage diplomacy or making threats um in negotiations to be able to get what they want.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately till now the Western powers have given in to that uh to a great extent, sometimes because of financial interest, sometimes out of fear, but either way, they have can help in the continuation of the lifeline on this regime by going down that path.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, um, as I mentioned, more is on the solution.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you look at Iran, um well Iran is not a classical dictatorship, it's a religious democracy.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's supposed to be a republic, so it's not like if you just remove that one top figure, the whole system falls through.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as we've seen since February 28th when Khomeini was killed, but also before that you have to remember Khomeini died and was replaced by Khomeini and the safe system still stayed intact.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that is the first uh issue because there's an apparatus intact that will continue the the lifeline of the regime.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, Iran is like four times the size of Iraq, uh three, four times the size of Iraq, four times the population.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And um we have every possible terrain that you could think of.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have mountain ranges, we have uh, you know, uh the deserts, we have forestry, we have bodies of water, everyone is now the world knows about uh hormones on the state of hormones.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: But uh so you know bringing in troops on the ground is not like the either.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the Iranian regime knows that with bombings, they're not going to be overthrown.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that's why the Iranian regime actually doesn't really mind the continuation of the war because it creates a it gives them the opportunity to create like a smokescreen to justify their suppression, to justify having martial law, to justify this major crackdown and the wave of executions that they began by saying, you know, we're at war.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um this is what we saw in the 1980s when the with the Iran-Iraq war.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um at that time, after two and a half years, Khomeini could have ended the war, but he continued the war for eight years because he said, you know, war was a holy matter for them because it created that those circumstances for the regime to be able to keep its grip on society and to suppress any internal dissents.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: So right now the regime, after what we saw in January with the uprisings, they're just trying to buy time to be able to get a grip on society by saying, look, there's war, so that's why we have such high um control and security and suppression right now in society.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something that's important for the international communities to realize.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: But also, as I mentioned, I think the most important is that the people of Iran, they have um they have the experience of foreign intervention.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because Iran is a rich country in national resources.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: It has always played an important geopolitical role.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So there have always been foreign interests in regards to Iran.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, uh if you look uh just in a few days, is the anniversary of the coup d'etat against Dr.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Mofadet, the only democratic government Iran has ever had, um, who was overthrown um through a coup d'etat by the CIA and MI6 because he nationalized Iran's oil.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And uh to this day we're paying the price for that.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: And also, like Khomeini, after the Shah was overthrown by the people in a popular uprising, Khomeini was brought in because it was the Cold War era.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And six months before the fall of the Shah, the intern the world knew that the Shah was on the verge of collapse, especially after he opened fire on peaceful protesters in September of 1978, so six months before the revolution.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that was like a breaking point.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone knew that the Shah's days were numbered.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So they started negotiating first of all, Khomeini was brought to France.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then they started negotiating with him because they figured, well, the people who are creating this revolution, they're mostly progressive, young activists that they were sure where their leniency would be because they were opposed to the meddling of the Western countries in their country for so long and you know, just you know, the whole oil industry and everything that was going on in Iran.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: So they figured, well, Khomeini is a like religious figure.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: He's uh you know, just his mindset he's against communism.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And he so he's against the USSR, so he will side with the West in the Cold War, and so we don't lose Iran, which had a common border with the USSR at that time to in the Cold War towards uh USSR.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh in reality, I don't think that that was even an issue that you know Iran would become a USSR ally, but unfortunately that was the price that was paid and to this day we're still paying that price because of that method.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: If the people of Iran had the people of Iran created the revolution for democracy, not for another form of dictatorship.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_03: But unfortunately 100%.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, unfortunately.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Under this regime.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we have that problem.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's why the peop the Iranian resistance stands very firm by the fact.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But what's it what's very important is that we actually have an organized resistance movement that has withstood the test of time.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Over 40%.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_03: Is it within the Iran organized movement?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_03: It's in Iran, right?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, both inside of Iran and outside.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'll explain a bit more later in the future questions, I guess.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: But um we have organized resistance movements, and that's what we we say we don't want financial health from foreign governments, we don't want military help from foreign governments, we just want them to not meddle and allow the people of Iran to take their destination into their own.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh very simple and straightforward um what the people of Iran are asking till now, because a lot of people might ask, well, you guys haven't overthrown the regime yet, so that means that you don't have the power.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is they're not seeing the fact that the positive replacement has helped the regime stay afloat till now.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you remove that aspect, then the people of Iran will have that.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so um with Iran executing over twenty twenty two hundred people in twenty twenty-five and uh also even more uh uh after January uh this protest?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_03: Uh uh They increasingly cutting down uh uh execution sentences for political prisoners.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: How does this unprecedented crackdown reveal the regime's desperation and uh what accountability measures can stop these uh crimes against humanity?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's it's really unbelievable what's going on this way.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, exactly.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um you're completely right.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um as you mentioned, in 2025 there is a regime actually 2,200 people in one year.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And in January in we saw the brutal crackdown of thousands of people who were killed.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there was like tens of thousands.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: Is it it's even I'm afraid even to say the numbers.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it was very good to get exact numbers.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have gathered the names of over 2,600 people who were killed in January.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um we don't have exact numbers because it's very hard to come about.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: There are also a lot of numbers that are being thrown around that some of them are not realistic.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it was more to, I guess, justify a war on Iran.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so uh there isn't any exact numbers right now of how many people were actually killed in the in the upright.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: But it was in the thousands and it was unacceptable in any terms.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um after the ceasefire, the regime has started a new wave of executions, uh, aside from like the daily executions that unfortunately the regime carried out.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: They have carried out the execution of um nine uh political prisoners affiliated with resistance units inside of Iran, which are belong to the um People's Mojiting Organization of Iran.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: And about over over 30 protesters from January protest have been also executed.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we had just two weeks ago two public executions in the city of Isfahan.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: And um the regime is trying to send a message, and I think that if the international community pays attention to what the regime has done, um I think it gives a clear message what the solution to Iran is actually.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because look, the day the ceasefire goes into action, what does the regime start doing?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Executing protesters and political prisoners affiliated with the Iranian resistance.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because the regime knows at the end of the day, war is not what's going to bring its end.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a mixture of the you know, uprisings, nationwide uprising with organized like the operations of organized resistance on the ground.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a combination of these two that will create that change that the people of Iran want to see, which is the full overthrow of this regime.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that is why we see these executions be carried out and the execution sentences being handed down on a daily basis.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um we just had um, you know, uh one one case that really sh you know stuck out to me was uh a case that about two weeks ago, if I'm not mistaken, um a young man, um he was um sentenced to execution.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um his family background is interesting.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um he is um he's from the Akbari Munfarid family.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um his uh his name is Amir Hassan, he's 22 years old.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Four of his aunts and uncles uh were executed in the 1980s.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Two of them in the 1988 massacre and two of them before that.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: His father has been in prison for many years of his life, on and off.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So has his uncle.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: And his aunt is one of the was one of the longest standing female political prisoners in Iran's history.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: She was imprisoned.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she was arrested in two thousand in December 2009, and she was just released about three months ago.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and her only charge was because of family affiliation, um, and because she was seeking information about why her siblings had been executed.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because Mariamat Act Baring Month, she was actually only 10 years old when her uh in 1980, when like she by the NG Penn she had lost four of her siblings already.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And after growing up, she was following up to see like why.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, why was she why were they killed?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Why were they executed?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Where are they buried?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: What is if what information is available on that?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: And because of that, she was arrested for family affiliation and she was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment, which she um served.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, this is the story of this family, and now you know the So uh may I ask you, uh as as as I have understood, uh the government uh has an ability to read um like messages in messengers or like some social media, or how um how do they intercept these messages or um the radio regime um the reading regime completely controls everything.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they don't even try to hide it.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um I personally experienced this myself.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: I remember as a I was a child, every time that they would mention um my name or my brother's name over the phone, the phone call a lot of times would get disconnected.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: But one time, like the person who was listening in on the phone conversation, we were in the US when people from Iran would call us or we would call them, like my grandparents or my aunts and whatnot.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: One time the person who was listening in on our phone conversation actually decided to enter the conversation and made comments.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and that's how and they they want to do that for you to know like we're listening.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Spread that fear, you know?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that is why you see, even right now, I mean, people always get like these posts on Instagram or on social media that you've been following this account or you have liked this account, this is a violation, and we will have you arrested.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And people have been charged for activity on social media or making contact on social media with um, you know, people outside of the country.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and actually right now, actually some of the people who are being charged with execution sentences, it's based on these charges or 20 years, 15 years um sentences that they're getting for social media activity.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: So this is uh something that the Iranian regime does do.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And you also have to understand in 2026, the regime has already, I mean, the people of Iran have spent more than half of this year in complete um communication blackout, not only just internet blackout, but even phone lines being cut off, even um text messages being cut off within the country, even.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So the regime has uh done things of that nature to try to control the situation and um to try to have a grip on society.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, that that is something that just happened anymore.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_03: And can people leave the country and enter it, or borders are closed for regular people and for and especially for those who were released from prison as uh political prisoners?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: Uh can they move in and out or what's going on this way?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh n normal just uh citizens, uh right now the borders are open if you have a passport or but not.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um getting a passport sometimes is very difficult.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: So it just depends on your status, I guess.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I see.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um for p you know, people who have a lot of people just because of as I said, they don't have to be even a political political prisoner or former political prisoner just because of family affiliation, if like for instance they might not have the um they might be banned from traveling abroad.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Or an artist, um figures that are known um in society, a lot of them are um do have uh a ban on trav travel ban, um, for them not to be able to leave the country.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: Leave the country, yeah.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um I see.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that that is something that also exists.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: I would just like to uh point out one more thing about the clerk prisoners that we were speaking about before.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think one of the things that is a new phenomenon uh right now is the s the the fact that because it is we are in an age of technology and communication.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um back unfortunately in the nineteen eighties no one heard about what was happening behind the prison walls.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um in a hundred and twenty thousand people have been executed for supporting Um the the Iranian resistance, and specifically most mostly the People's Mojarian Organization of Iran, also known as the NIK.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And as we mentioned, in 1988 there was a massacre, about 30,000 political prisoners were executed in just five, six weeks.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: At that time, it was right after the week after the ceasefire was signed between Iran and Iraq, that massacre began.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: And right now, exactly at the same time as a ceasefire was put in place, these new this new wave of execution has begun.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: But what is interesting is to see this generation and their defiance in face of the regime.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the lessons that they've learned and they they say themselves, they learned from those who stood there, you know, stood steadfast in 1988.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: So that has turned into a culture of resisting and standing steadfast even at the gallows and not bowing down to the regime.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: There are cases like, for instance, Bahib Bani Almeryan, he was executed in April of this year.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of audio messages, video messages, um, text, handwritten notes from him that were published after he was executed, and it has really not only shaken Iran, but also in the international community.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Many, many outlets have covered his letters and his memos and his messages as a new phenomenon.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: That this is the Gen Z of Iran.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is how step fast they are, and this is how how much of an understanding they have of the complex situation that they're facing.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: But they've made that decision to stand and resist and to continue this path of resistance.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and join a movement like the MEK that has been fighting for 60 years against both the Shah and the Mulla to be able to finally create a you know secular democratic republic in Iran.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what you know this younger generation is going towards.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that has raised a lot of um uh I guess people are seeing Iran in a new light.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: And also seeing, like, oh, so this isn't just one case or another.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: I remember in 2022, people were shocked by the women of Iran and their bravery in coming to the streets.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or in January, people were like, you know, these young people are so very coming to the streets like this.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: But now they understand it's not one or like single individual cases.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's a whole movement or a whole generation that have um this thing these days.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, yeah.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for giving so much of information.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and uh another question why are women leading the resistance in Iran and uh what can the world learn from their current uh strategy and vision, especially in the face of uh the escalating uh repression?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: Like what uh can you tell more about the women's uh uh movement?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well um we are faced up against a misogynist regime.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: So um from day one, one of the main targets of this regime have been the women of Iran, but the women of Iran from day one have never given in to the status quo, and I think that's really important to understand.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um but specifically, uh I'd like to draw attention to this aspect of it, which is not talked about too much, and that is that uh in the Iranian resistance, um, and when I'm speaking of Iranian resistance here, I mean mostly the MEK and then to some extent the NCRI.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in the MEK specifically, though, since 1985, they realized in the annual you know, analysis of their activities, they realized that women everyone have been, you know, uh going through so much hurdles and obstacles to join the movement, but they're still doing that and they're paying a great price to do it because even in society, it's more acceptable for your son to join like a you know resistance movement or a revolutionary movement than your your daughter, right?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: But these people were overcoming those obstacles and joining this movement and were partners of it, and um, they really shined in every aspect of it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then in prison, though, they were also faced with even more severe methods of torture and suppression than even the men because the regime had like this hysteria toward women who stand in defiance.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: And but still they were showing more, you know, they were more steadfast and uh unbreakable under these circumstances.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: But on the other hand, they were not being represented in the highest levels of leadership, even though they were there were a lot of capable female leaders in the movements, but they weren't in the highest positions of leadership or presented there.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is when the main resistance that was like a red flag for it in internally, and so they decided to change their whole structure because they realized that this shows that we still have a bit of that misogynist mentality even within ourselves, because this is how society is, unfortunately.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so what they did was they made the decision to change the entire structure within the resistance to bring women leadership goals.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: And since 1985, uh this has started.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: And in nine since 1989, all the Secretary Generals of the People's Modernity Organization of Iran have been women.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the entire leadership council of this movement since 1993 have all been women.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: And this has led to the growth of the movement, not only among women, but also among men.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: And men are now taking more responsibility than they than they did even before, because they feel like this process, it's uh it's not only opening the path for women women, but it's also emancipating for everyone, because these gender roles they create so much shackles on everyone in society.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have seen the growth of this movement um throughout this process.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why, like, when even though the world was kind of shocked when they saw in 2022 that women were in the forefront of the protest, for us it wasn't a shock at all.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: This was the natural evolution of this movement because um for 30-something years, the people of Iran, even if they weren't in direct contact with the resistance, they knew that women are the force for change in the resistance and they are leading this movement and they are moving it forward.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that in itself has ripple effects throughout society, and that is why we see women at the forefront.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember um I when I was about 15 years old, I heard a speech by Mrs.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: Rajav.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: She's the president elect of the Iranian resistance, and she is the one who actually actually she's the mastermind behind this whole concept of women in leadership and the movement.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And uh she said there addressing Khamenei, she said, um, the women of today, the suppressed women of today are the vanguards of tomorrow, and you will be overthrown by this thing force that you take for granted that exists.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that is what we're seeing in Iran, I believe.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and this has uh really propelled the women of Iran forward and has broken a lot of you know glass ceilings and just these and you know, these mindsets.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And today, um, 52% of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is the parliamentary NASA, are women.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And um our president elect for the future of Iran, uh, after the overthrow of the regime, is also a woman, Mrs.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: May Majari that I mentioned before.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, thank you.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what are the biggest misconceptions about the current Iran uh crisis and the Iranian opposition groups?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_03: And how did this misunderstanding uh hinder progress?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like what what what do you think people do not know or maybe misunderstand something?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think the first one is what we spoke about before, of you know thinking that we're stuck either between negotiation and diplomacy with this regime or war, which is not uh the case.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a third option, and that's supporting the people of Iran to bring about change instead of giving into the positive appeasement or thinking that war is going to make any change um for the people of Iran.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um could you give me one second, let me shut up.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, yeah.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry about that.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um could edit that part.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, um, so one misunderstanding or is in regards to more not being the solution or approvement.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's the support the people of Iran, they have the capability and the capacity to bring about change.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um the second, I think, is probably what comes next.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thinking that the people of Iran, well, if you don't want this regime, then you have to go back to the previous regime, which was a also a dictatorship, but the classical dictatorship, the monarchy, the Shah time.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um the reality is that that's also not the truth.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: The people of Iran want to move forward to a secular democratic republic, um, where there is people's sovereignty.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that is something that they've been fighting for for decades.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the reality is that the people of Iran revolted against the Shah for a reason.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: And just because something worse came into power doesn't mean that that was um wrong, the revolution.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that is, I think, the first misconception.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the fact that I I think the slogans on the streets in Iran show that clearly.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: That one of the main slogans has been always down with dictators.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing has been like down with the dictator, be it down with the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Mullahs, or things of that nature, which show that the people of Iran want to move forward.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um and they they have a, as I said, a viable alternative in the National Council of Assistance of Iran and what it represents.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think this is uh some one of the major misconceptions.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why there's a lot of talk of uh, you know, people mentioning like the return of the son of the Shah or things of that nature.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: But the reality is that, you know, we there are people still alive who bear the scars of the torture of the Sabak.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: There are people still alive who remember those tortures, those executions.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: It hasn't been forgotten, and the people of Iran are not going back to that.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's very alarming for Iranians these days that they see this fascist nature among the uh supporters of monarchy in Iran who call for the death of anyone who does not support monarchy, and the fact that they are calling for the revival of the Savak um or Sabak 2.0.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: The Sabak is known in history as one of the most brutal, you know, supportive forces, even that's not something that's forgotten.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: And and Mr.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: Palag has never distanced himself from that.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: He clearly stated that I take pride in my family's heritage.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: A reporter actually in Sweden specifically asked him, he's like, he said, yeah, so there may have been mistakes, but I think my grand my father was like the greatest leader in Iran's history.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, So what were those mistakes?
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, you know, something about the economy.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the pr the reporter was like, so you're not going to mention the executions, the tortures, all of that by stomach.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that is something that the people of Iran are not forgetting because in fact Homani was the continuation of that system and was a fruit of that system.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so the people of Iran are in history, they want to move forward and they want to be able to take their destiny into their own hands.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: They don't think that, you know, um what justifies someone to come and be, you know, their heir to whatever.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think the time and era for that has passed.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um the people of Iran want to be able to um choose their own representatives and have a true democratic constitution and a true system, you know, a republic where they can choose their leaders and to be able to um move forward that way.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_03: I see, I see.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_03: And um I would like to talk about uh uh a little bit more about this third option, because we have war, we have diplomacy, and this third option, how do you how do you see it to become to become a reality?
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what what what people should start with.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um I think it's really important to understand the concept itself first.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, in Iran, in the last um about twelve years or so, we have been facing a new phenomenon, which is called what we call resistance units or MK resistance.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: It is the network of the Iranian resistance, which works underground in Iran.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it is groups of it could be two, three people, or it could be up to like 20 people in one uh unit, that they they are local, first of all, and then they work together, they carry out different activities, um, mostly to raise awareness in society and keep hope alive.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: But on the other hand, they also carry out operations against centers of oppression um throughout the country.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: In the January uprising, within that 12 days or so, they carried out over 620 different operations against suppressive um organs of the regime.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they were able to actually help free a lot of people who were being arrested or prevent them from being arrested and things of that nature.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: So um, and we also saw in the uh January uprising, actually on if you look back on January 5th and 6th, I believe it was, that we saw that a few uh small cities were um the people the people were actually able to take over the city and push out all the suppressive forces, which was the in effect the result of the work of resistance units and like the example that they were setting um for others to be able to do that.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that was what we were seeing on the ground.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um these resistance move units, um, they have increased the numbers um in recent years.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, based on the statement given from the headquarters of the movement inside of Iran.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they have they announced that in the process of the uprising, over 2,000 of them were either killed or arrested without you know any c clear indication of where they're being held right now.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: So that is what we're seeing, but also this new wave of executions is also proof of that.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: But what's important is the fact that despite this mass arrest, not only have the activities not decreased, they have increased.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: Which shows like the extent of the network.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I'd like to point out something, is about a week before uh the start of the war.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um the regime for about 50 days they had complete um martial law in in in place in Iran after the uprising.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the minute that the day that university resumed classes um on campus, protests broke out in Iran.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: So this is one week before the start of the war, actually.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was on Saturday, the 23rd, I believe, um, February 23rd.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: So protest broke out in university, and the regime was not able to control it.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this was day one of the universities going back to classes.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um and the regime couldn't control this, and it continued for like three days.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: The day after, on sorry, this was on February 22nd, on February 23rd, so five days before the start of the war, um 200 members of resistance units carried out an operation against the head for Khomene, the same place that was targeted on February 28th and led to Khomene's death.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: In that.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_03: And may I ask you, uh uh y you say the operation, the way what kind of operation?
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_03: Is it like special forces operation or is it just some legal or like what it looks like briefly?
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_03: Is it like armed people or what is that?
• 40:23
  unknown: Yeah.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was um it's like kind of I guess like guerrilla warfare testing.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but y yes, it was uh people who had armed themselves.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um some of them were homemade material, but still they were able to do that.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: But what was important is that first of all, 200 were able to organize, 250 were able to organize together, so different units coming together to carry out a joint operation on the most secure location in all of the country at a time that they were on heightened security due to fear of war starting any day.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: And they were able to infiltrate that uh compound or headquarters, even though that headquarters was protected at that time by over 8,000 suppressive forces.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: And for the people of Iran, that had a message.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because it was clear for the 250 who were taking part in the operation that they wouldn't be able to like overthrow the regime with 250 people.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: If that wasn't the key.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: The key was to carrying this out, first of all, breaking that fear that existed in society that the regime was able to suppress the protest.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: It gave this message that the regime is in a much weaker position than you think, because 250 people were able to infiltrate at a time that they were on heightened security, and then that this is their most secure location in all of the country.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that was the message for the people everyone and gave them a lot of hope that so this is going to be in the new norm now.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um process simultaneous with options being carried on those who are you know leading this movement or you know, the more progressive or the more, I guess, um, pioneers in the movement.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: So because change never comes about but from the millions.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, it's a small sector of any society that brings about that change.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: So exactly it's going to be a combination of these two, like mass protests by the people and those who will be leading the operation to make sure that the regime can't suppress the people who are coming to the streets.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: And but unfortunately, five days later the war started, so it was impossible for any operations to be carried out, really, because there are bombings over your head.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: You have to take shelter, you know, martial law at state.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that that gave a glimpse, and that is why the minute that the ceasefire went into action, the regime started the execution of people who were members of resistance units, and also those who carry suit from the protesters, and that you know, certain followed the same messaging or the same methods from the protesters from January.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: And um quick question.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh how uh what was the reaction of the Iranian people when uh United States started started bombing everything and destroying and uh they were uh happy or maybe opposite or like what was w what what was in the society?
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: What vibe I think that um you will never find a people that would like their country to be bombed.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um were people happy that hominy has been eliminated?
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_00: But was this how they saw it?
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, because he wasn't held accountable for the his crime.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: And hasn't led also to any kind of a complete change in the fact it has opened the regime's arms for more suppression.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: But also on the other hand, war unfortun unfortunate comes with a lot of devastation.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is something that the people of Ukraine know more than anyone else and can relate to.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: But uh the destruction of infrastructures, the you know civilian casualties of a war are very high.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, people of Iraq feel like they're stuck between pressure from both sides.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: So from above above of there's bombings, and then from down below there's also the suppression of the regime.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um to keep its grip and control over society.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: So they're stuck between the two.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, as I mentioned, also because of the experience that we do have as a people, um, we know that, you know, at the end of the day, we have a saying in farsi.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: We say no one's going to scratch your back except your own finger.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you really want to see a democracy come, um the democracies can't be installed.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: It has to come from the people.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so they um they believe that we have to be the change that we want to see as society and we have to bring it about.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: The people of Iran are willing to pay that price.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they have the capability and capacity to bring about that change, but what they're asking for the international community is to not turn a blind eye on the regime and not to, you know, continue this this line.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think that the statements by uh over 23 uh 32 countries actually this week in regards to the human rights situation in Iran um was a welcome change because since March till now the regime has been carrying out mass executions and what's astonishing to me is that for instance last July two political prisoners were executed.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_00: Practically 10 governments gave a statement that weekend um condemning the the execution of political prisoners.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_00: This year, over 50 people have been, since April till now, over 50 people have been executed in Iran for being a protester or a political prisoner.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um many of the Kurdish uh groups, uh they have been bombed by the Iranian regime.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: And to this day, till till last week, it was complete silenced from the international community in regards to about all of these things.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that sent a message to the Iranian regime that, oh, you know what, because we want these negotiations to go forward, we're willing to turn a blind eye on all of that.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you could carry out your attacks on these people, on the opposition, on those who oppose you, and we we're not going to do anything about it.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that is the message that they're giving with their you know, achievement.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: They might not see it as that they're saying, oh, diplom this is diplomacy, but that diplomacy comes with the price, and the price is being paid by the people of Iran.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's time to take a firm stance and face with the regime, hold them accountable for their crimes.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um the Iranian regime only understands the language of force and um just having a firm policy.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I think that's really important for the international community to realize.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_03: Uh about uh Miriam Rajavi, um, can you tell us uh who is she and what about her leadership uh inspired you and uh two millions of Iranians?
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, um Mrs.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: Ajab, she is the president elector of the National Council of Resistance, everyone, for the interim government after the fall of the regime.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: So once the Iranian regime collapses, um the interim government will be set up in Iran um for six months.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: The president uh of this new um interim government will be in the government.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_03: For the first six months, she will be uh as a president, correct?
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_03: That's what it is?
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and then uh after six months there will be uh elections held for a constituent assembly.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: That constituent assembly will put together, they they will draft the new constitution, and after that new constitution is drafted, it will be put to public vote, and then there will be put uh presidential elections held um based on that.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: So um that is her role for the interim government.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the interim government will be based on the plan set forth um by the National Pass over Distance Everyone.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the plans for the interim government have been worked on for decades.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: They were first presented in 1981, actually.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um 1982, sorry, in 1982.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: And um, but if you want to have a I guess clip notes of what that stands for, it's the 10-point plan presented by Mrs.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Rajabi, which calls for, you know, a um separation of religion state, it calls for gender equality, it calls for that the ballot box of the final criterion, it calls for an independent judiciary system, uh, a free market economy, um, for the um rest of all of Iran's ethnicities to be respected, um, and all religious minorities to be respected.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it calls for um the abolition of the death penalty and all forms of torture, all of the suppressive forces.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: It calls for a um non-nuclear Iran and an Iran that is in peace with its neighbors.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, I know that the people of Ukraine have also been the uh unfortunate um cost of Iran's terrorism and warm.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, they collaborate with Russia with those drones.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's a big deal.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um millions also in the region, and so we want we want to put an end to that.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_00: So uh really it's a blueprint for a true democracy.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh Mrs.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: Bajavi has inspired, as you mentioned, millions.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for me, she has been a role model role model for me from my childhood, um, to be honest.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um I've I always considered myself very lucky to be able to have such role models who have taught me groups and they have shown us in practice with their own um by their own example that you know we can't she had a model says we can't and we must.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: She always said that you can do anything.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: What's important is first make that decision and then respect your own decision and pay the part for them step by step.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you will be able to accomplish anything.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_00: And um, she has led that path with her own example.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what has been uh really inspiring from her is the fact that she's never been after being that you know one lone star that you know just shines bright.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_00: She has always been after creating a whole you know generation or generations now of capable leaders, um specifically capable female leaders.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: And she has you know broken so many glass ceilings in this matter.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's very interesting to me that uh we usually have uh every year we hold a conference for International Women's Day.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that is like the only chance that we get to we actually speak about our own experience and in the year of what we've been able to accomplish in this part of our fight too, because this has always been part and parcel of our fight.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting to me to see, you know, prominent uh philosophers, university professors coming to this conference every year, not to not to come and hear about um necessarily uh about the fight of Libyan people and what it's going on, but to hear like what is the latest that you've been able to accomplish in creating equality, uh gender equality.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I know people who've been coming to that conference for 30 years and look forward to it every single day, and they see themselves as part of this movement now.
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I think that one day, um once we see the fall of this regime, um, I think that this movement will have a lot of experience to share with the world in regards to um our path to reaching gender equality or the roads to that, because um, as I mentioned, for over 30 years, um women have been holding key roles um in this movement, and we believe that women's empowerment is part of the path to reaching full emancipation of human beings, and um because there has been systematically this suppression that has been against women for you know centuries now.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um so Ms.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: Rajabi always says it's like a spring.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: The more pressure that you put on a spring, when that pressure is taken up, the more potential there is to jump.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the potential that we think uh and the women of Iran, and that's um you know, it's very um both eye-opening but also inspiring um to see and to be a part of that.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um why should young people and women worldwide care about Iran's future and uh what gives you hope that uh freedom is is already within the reach and how can others support it?
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that first of all, um there is a uh saying uh that you know we are all one, a part of one.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's not everything has a ripple effect, everything has effects.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can't be um I guess you can't close your eyes on a injustice anywhere in the world and just think that it's not going to affect you, but it will one way or another affect you.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that um today, you know, one of those friends um that people need to understand that they it affects them directly.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is a situation in Iran, the same way it was the situation in Ukraine.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think that everyone needs to have a stance on these things.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: They you can't be there's no neutrality here.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_00: There you have to have a stance.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think that we also saw, unfortunately, you know, during the the days of the war with Iran, um, how immediately it didn't stop at Iran's borders.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_00: Iran took it to twenty countries and neighboring countries too.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's what number one state sponsor of international terrorism was.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I think it affects all of us.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: And specifically youth and women because they need to understand, uh, you know, first of all what this means for their own futures too.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: But also because women and youth are the main victims of this regime.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um 70% of Iran's population are uh is under the age of 30.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_00: They've and not all of them, but their even their parents' generation to a great extent have seen nothing but this regime.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that needs to come to an end.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I think in the world that we live in today, this connected world that we have, we all um have a responsibility toward what we see.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: I always in school learning about like World War II and you know that era, I always thought, you know, why weren't there more people who stood against it there?
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, yeah, yeah, I had that in the school as well.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I I always thought about that.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, what would I have done if I lived back then?
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm glad to see that, you know, with the path that I did choose in my life, that I know that if I lived then, I would have also taken a stand.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that we all have that opportunity right now to do something about this the injustices that we see in the world and to take a stand and to do something about it.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's really important and to stand by your you know, brothers and sisters around the world.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how can people get active?
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of ways, actually.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um just to give an example um on for those who are listening in, maybe in Canada and and also in the US.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, for one thing, um the UNGA is ahead, the UN General Assembly in September.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_00: On September 22nd and September 23rd, uh members of the Iranian Gaspara come together in uh Data Hamashul Plaza to voice their and display with the Iranian regime and to stand by the people of Iran and to show their solidarity and support for the people of Iran and their fight for freedom.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um that is uh something that everyone is welcome to join.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so if you would if you're interested, you can reach out to Organization of Iranian American Communities.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's oiac.org for more information.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um they have chapters across like 40 different states in the US.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you're probably covered there.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_00: But they also have um there are also organizations of the Iranian community also in Canada and other places that you could reach out to, Iranfreedom.org, and they'll put you in contact with local chapters.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um they do have a lot of activity just last week, actually, there was a um demonstration in Toronto um honoring the 1988 massacre, um the anniversary of that.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so they do hold a lot of different activities, be it you know, uh working with lawmakers, parliamentarians um in different countries, or members of Congress and Senate in the US, or uh reaching out to you know, uh international entities with like the United Nations or whatnot, but also they hold a lot of like exhibits, protests, um, gatherings, they do things for the families of political prisoners and whatnot.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of work that they do, and um I think raising awareness is also very key.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we greatly appreciate everyone's help and support and solidarity in whatever way that they can.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we value every single one of it, how no matter how little or how uh large it all makes a difference.
• 59:35
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_03: And um can you tell us how people can uh either contact you or maybe learn about the Miriam Rajaviz vision?
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_03: That you have a website?
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, definitely.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's actually two website uh a few websites that you can visit.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's myamraj.com, which is myam.com.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'll give it to you so you can chat in the notes.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's also uh myamraj for change.com.
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um to learn more about the national council resistance, everyone needs to visit ncr-iron.org.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh to learn more about um the I guess those who are interested in women's um movements in Iran, there's a wncri.org.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's the women's committee of the national task of resistance that we run.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there are a lot of stats there, there are a lot of information there that can be informative to people.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_00: So uh these are ways that you can contact or learn more about the resistance.
• 1:00:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I am also available on most um social media platforms, so on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn, if you search my name, it should come up.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'd be more than happy to respond to anyone who would like to be in contact with the good okay.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for uh thank you for uh being with me today, Zel.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh thank you for sharing your insight and advocacy with us today.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh guys, it was the baby with us today's episode today.
• 1:01:15
  SPEAKER_03: Uh all the information out of the