Toronto Candle light vigil for blue girl
Today I remember Sahar Khodayari (Blue Girl) who died last year after setting
herself on fire. Her “crime” was that she disguised herself as a man to sneak into a
soccer stadium to watch her favourite soccer team Esteghlal of Tehran
which wears the colour blue. Sahar was arrested and detained for several days before
she was released on bail. She was charged with committing a sinful act by
appearing in public without a hijab. Sahar later set herself on fire in front
of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran in protest of a possible sentence
of six months.
Sahar’s tragic death is a horrible reminder that women
and girls in Iran face gender discrimination and abuse in so many ways.
I cannot tell my own daughters the story of the Blue
Girl because it is too frightening. Fortunately, my daughters are now living in
Canada which protects women’s human rights and freedoms. They have a promising
future and equal opportunities in Canada.
I attended a memorial for Sahar in Canada
because Sahar is a freedom fighter and a hero for all those who want equality
and human rights in Iran. I really hope
that her tragic death will not be in vain.
I hope that one day all the sisters and mothers of my country will be able to participate in all sports freely and without restrictions.🌹
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, I hope so.
DeleteBe safe.
I really hope one day they saw us as human respect us let us to talk with freedom
ReplyDeleteI remember when they arrested me as bad hejab girl i ask them whats my problem they told me u are the reason that guys will do sin and when u are with sports clothes this is show ur body then it means that u want rape from guys this is crime
I wish one day arrive in my country that they don’t ask the girl verginity test before married hope they will not treat with girls like animal
Thank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteIn this criminal regime, Iranian women and girls are constantly discriminated against and harassed just for being female. The compulsory hijab is a tool of the Islamic Republic of Iran to control and repress females. The misogynistic laws of the Islamic Republic are based on a perversion of the Quran.The Blue Girl is a tragic symbol of the oppressed women of my country. I hope that one day the women of Iran will be liberated from this oppression. My wife and daughters and I are so thankful that we are now in Canada which protects our precious human rights and freedoms.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteThe story of the Blue Girl has the worst ending so her story became an international news story, but there are too many other female victims of the Islamic Regime whose stories you will never know. My own wife was a champion swimmer in Iran, but she was prohibited from international competitions. Even though I am her husband, I was forbidden the opportunity of watching my own wife swim in competitions. Our family was not even allowed to swim together in Iran. Our son is a very good basketball player, but my wife was forbidden to watch her own son play basketball in Iran. We are powerless to challenge these stupid and repressive laws. Human beings deserve much better.
ReplyDeleteThe Islamic Regime in Iran claims under the pretext of Islam that it is protecting the morality of females when it is really damaging their lives. The Islamic Regime in Iran destroys the lives of our Iranian mothers, daughters and sisters by crushing their human rights, freedoms, hopes and dreams.
Every day in Canada where we are free is a blessing for our family.
Thank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteThe Blue Girl was so brave. May her memory live for ever and her death not be in vain. God bless her��
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteThe empires of the world will always oppress instead of bless. Only the Kingdom of God with Messiah Jesus will give real freedom to everyone, regardless of colour, gender or background. Yes, let's peacefully protest and find ways to educate this and the next generation of boys and girls in Iran so that there will be both love and justice. And we continue to pray for God to pour His Holy Spirit on the leaders of Iran so that they will be transformed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteI have always wanted to be in stadiums and watch my favorite team play the sport that I loved. I never got the chance to do it while my male cousins were enjoying this freedom. I wish I had the opportunity to experience watching a game live when I was a teenager. This is something that still bothers me; not having watched a single game live in a stadium. My only sin was that I was a girl.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteI remember the time when one of my teachers asked me about this. After I explained, he looked flabbergasted. He told me “I can’t even imagine that. One of the best memories I have with my two daughters are the times we watched hockey together live.” He couldn’t find his words after I told him that he wouldn’t be able to watch his daughters play in a game in Iran either. “That’s insane,” he said. It shows how the catastrophes that Iran is imposing on it’s people looks in the eyes of the rest of the world. I’m so happy I’m out a country filled with tyranny of evil men and an anguished general public.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteFor all my life, the Islamic Republic of Iran has denied us the freedom we deserve
ReplyDeleteas women. I was never able to go outside in Iran without hijab. I was always afraid
that I would be mistreated for not wearing the hijab properly. I dreamed to have
the same rights and freedoms as the boys and men, but that is not possible in
Iran. So many women and girls think the same way as me in Iran, but we are
helpless to do anything about it.
The Islamic Republic always made me feel insecure about my own future as a
young woman in Iran.
I feel so lucky to be in Canada where I am free and safe and the sky is the limit for
me as a woman.
Thank you for your comment. Be safe
DeleteWe will never forget Sahar Khodayari and thousands of innocent people who have been oppressed for the realization of civil rights and freedoms, and we are sure that the innocent blood of our loved ones shed by the Iranian regime will not be trampled on.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Be safe.
DeleteBut what did the Iranian people want from the bloodthirsty regime that they should be so oppressed or killed or forced to flee their homeland?
ReplyDeleteWe, the people of Iran, both inside and outside Iran, must unite and eradicate the roots of this bloodthirsty terrorist regime
ReplyDeleteThank you Sam for your comments, yes we need to do it.
DeleteWe are fighting for the freedom and liberation of our country from this treacherous and criminal regime
ReplyDeleteYes this is our duty and responsibility for next Iranian generation.
DeleteIn my former home country of Iran, Islamic law is interpreted and applied as a tool to control Iranians at all costs. Human rights including gender rights are sacrificed under the Islamic regime. The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran is manipulated by the leadership to serve only their interests.
ReplyDeleteThe enforcement agents are given wide power to enforce the laws as they see fit. Thus, enforcement is arbitrary and unpredictable. The enforcers often misuse their power for their personal benefit or just to flex their muscles. Women are disproportionately targeted and victimized by the enforcers since women are more vulnerable than men in Iran.
For example, in the “Blue Girl” case, women were prohibited from entering soccer stadium because apparently doing so “harms public decency”. This never made any sense whatsoever to me. A women’s place in society should not be at the discretion of men. It is another expression of backward, misogynistic thinking. Women want to watch soccer matches because we like soccer. Period. If we cannot achieve gender equality in a sports stadium, how on earth will we ever achieve gender equality in society.
The Blue Girl’s dream was to go and watch her favourite team play soccer in Azadi Stadium. AZADI means FREEDOM or LIBERTY in Farsi. It is a cruel and tragic irony that the events which led to the senseless death of the Blue Girl began with her being punished just for entering a sports stadium called “Freedom” Stadium.
The story of the Blue Girl is just the tip of the iceberg. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, women and girls face, on a daily basis, gender discrimination and repression.
I urge all women and the men who are in democratic countries to raise their voices for the freedom and human rights on behalf of our sisters stuck in Iran in order to prevent another Blue Girl tragedy.
Rest in peace Sahar.
Thank you for your influential comment. Be safe.
DeleteThe blue girl was a sample of thousand women that live in Iran .
ReplyDeleteI was in a badminton team and l experienced this things as well but l was not as brave as the blue girl so l decided survive my daughters
Thank you for your comment. Be safe.
DeleteRescue my daughters
ReplyDelete