Please don't look away from the women's revolution that is happening in Iran.

! TW: SA, murder, shitty misogynistic regime/system. !

I'm sure you've heard of Mahsa Amini on the news or on Twitter or in some hashtag somewhere on social media.

She was a 22 year old girl who was killed by the Iranian "morality police" for having strands of hair out of her hijab.

Well, Mahsa is one of thousands. She is one of millions. Of tens of millions of girls who have been harassed and detained and "re-educated" by the morality police for having what they deem improper hijab. She is one of thousands of girls who are imprisoned right now for participating in anti-hijab protests, who have been raped, beaten, coerced, killed and the list goes on.

Just one other example is 16 year old Nika Shakarami who very vocally participated in the front lines of a protest, chanting anti regime slogans, and burned her hijab. Her aunt, who was participating in the protest with her, last saw her being chased by authorities— they split up when fleeing. She was missing for a week, until they called her mother and aunt in to identify a corpse. The corpse's nose was smashed, as was her skull (with a baton). Her body was stitched up; her organs were not inside her. Using deductive reasoning looking at the history of the Iranian authorities, poor Nika was most likely raped and tortured for a week before she was killed. Her family tried to hold a funeral for her in her home city— on her 17th birthday (she was killed just days before her 17th birthday). The authorities kidnapped her corpse and didn't allow the funeral because it sparked another protest.

There is so many stories like this but Nika's really hurts me the most. I've cried so much for her beautiful bubbly soul who just wanted a normal life with basic human rights, with the basic freedom she was BORN with.

There's so much more misogyny and patriarchal rule. Like how if you get married in Iran and your husband demands sex and you don't want to, he can call the police and they'll come to talk you into having sex with him, how it's your DUTY. If you get rped, there is no way for you to find justice, because you're married now, you are his property! Your husband can look for a second wife and commend and prefer the second wife to you if she is more willing for sex.

Let me make this clear before someone points it out: we call it a "woman's revolution", but men are victims of the Iranian regime, too. Our problem is greater than mandatory hijab and a misogynistic system. Our problem is corruption, government hypocrisy, money laundering by the government, poverty, extreme class differences (there are millionaires driving sports cars living in mansions while there are people who struggle to feed their families bread and water in the SAME CITY, let alone country). Our government ignores the tens of millions of poor Iranians and instead funds foreign armies (Palestine, Lebanon, etc) and spends money on nuclear weapons.

BUT what sparked the final crack that caused what is now becoming a revolution, was the death of an innocent young woman killed for not wanting to wear hijab. This is the Iranian women's revolution. This is the Iranian men's revolution. This is the revolution against misogyny and mandatory hijab. This is the revolution against a murderous, terrorist, corrupt government.

Please do not look away. As an Iranian woman, the pain of Mahsa and Nika is MY pain. I AM Mahsa and Nika. I could literally have been either of them. They are my sisters. They are your sisters. Freedom, feminism, and equality is near for us Iranians. But we need your support. And all that is is for you to CARE, you to know what is going on in Iran. That is enough. If you want, participate in protests (there's been a lot of protests outside of Iran for Iran). I recommend joining r/NewIran (the r/ Iran... source

My favorite part of being a woman is knowing there’s a chronic health condition that affects many of us as early as our thirties and can last a decade and our doctors just keep completely silent about it source

Bar is below the ground. source

If I don't laugh I'll cry! source

Yeah, and? source

why I don't date men my age... source

US women have only had the constitutional right to vote for 102 years. Our democracy is delicate. Don’t take your rights for granted. VOTE.

Fantastic podcast on women’s suffrage and the 19th amendment. I gasped, I cried, I’m going to vote.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-that-doesnt-suck/id1291579828?i=1000579159572

Edit: AND 57 years since alll women and men have had the right to vote. Voting Rights Amendment of 1965. WOW- that’s barely one generation ago!

Again, all people are created equal. Let’s keep it that way!

www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/ym00ke/us_women_have_only_had_the_constitutional_right/ source

Louder for the people in the back source

Groups led by women of color inject $150M into elections to protect abortion and reproductive rights | not only words we know how to put our 💰 where it hearts are

thegrio.com/2022/11/03/choice-abortion-reproductive-rights/ source

Reddit salivates over situations where a woman is the villain source

Somehow I don't see this working out source

Every time I’m browsing r/botchedsurgeries I wonder some illegal basement clinic is the only place I’ll be able to get tubal ligation for non-medical reasons before I’m 45 source

why does it have so many likes source

Cackles all the way to the voting booth source

Fun Fact source

And the 🍆 pic you didn't ask for, or particularly want to see source

definitely didn't give me insane vulnerability issues source

I got banned for suggesting that only one colour of trolley is actively removing bodily autonomy source

In honor of today's NYC marathon, let's remember Ridiculously Photogenic Guy source

Flirt like a straight man source

Celebrate with me! I put my rapist in jail today!!! 🎉

he was charged with felony rape 3, and pleaded down to assault 4 with sexual motivation. At the sentencing they allowed me to speak. I spoke for ten minutes and asked the judge to give him jail time (the plea agreement was zero days in jail.) the judge said yes!!! He is to spend 25 days in jail starting 11/14 and two years probation. It’s a small victory for what he did but it’s a victory!!! 🎉 his lawyer asked for him to report to jail after thanksgiving so he could spend the holiday with his family. The judge said “do you want him to report now instead? No, he can't delay so he can celebrate thanksgiving.” 😆 thank you judge for some measure of justice!!!

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UDPATE Nov. 7:

Thank you all for the amazing support and celebrating with me! There are too many comments to reply to but I have read and appreciate each one! This has been the worst experience of my life and I'm so glad to have community support after this violence. To answer questions: I am in the USA, in the State of Washington, city of Seattle. Yes, justice would mean he serves much more time in jail, but unfortunately this is not the reality of how the justice system treats victims. In Seattle they are not even prosecuting a lot of adult sexual crimes. I am very lucky that mine was investigated, and yes, he should serve much longer in prison, but the prosecutor and sexual assault advocates were surprised at even this outcome of 25 days. It's not enough. But it's better than most people get.

According to RAINN out of 1,000 sexual assaults, only 25 are incarcerated.

www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system

Seattle has an enormous backlog of felony cases. The system is not keeping up, nor does it believe or prioritize sexual assault. Yes, it's a travesty of justice and is not acceptable.

www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/king-county-prosecutors-race-qa-charging-decisions-criminal-case-backlog/

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/king-county-judges-attorneys-and-corrections-officers-are-all-feeling-the-strain-from-a-historic-backlog-of-criminal-cases/

www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/yoezs0/celebrate_with_me_i_put_my_rapist_in_jail_today/ source