Mersedeh Shahinkar, Sakharov Prize: ‘Losing my eye made me more decisive. The struggle of the Iranian people will continue until the end’

In October of last year, Mersedeh Shahinkar was with her mother at a protest in Tehran, when the brutality of the Iranian regime raged against her. Like thousands of other women, she attended one of the protests that had been triggered by the death of Masha Amini, the young Iranian who died in police custody for wearing her hijab incorrectly. While Shahinkar was at the march, a security agent shot a projectile that took out her eye. The image of her bloody face went viral immediately, and the case had such a large impact on social media that the Government considered her a “threat to the country’s security” and began to harass her. One afternoon, police entered her home, went through all of her belongings and left. After a few days, the regime’s agents came back with the same threatening attitude. After that, she took her 11-year-old daughter and left the country.

Now, she raises her voice from exile to ask for support from the West to overthrow the Islamic Republic. On Tuesday, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to Shahinkar and another activist, Afsoon Najafi, as representatives of the Women, Life, Freedom movement that arose after the death of Amini, to whom the Parliament has also awarded the prize, posthumously.

Question. How does it feel to have received the EU’s highest honor in human rights?

Answer. When I began to go to the streets to protest against the regime, I never could have imagined that one day I’d wind up receiving the Sakharov Prize in France. The honor makes me feel good, but it’s also an indicator that the international community is paying attention to what is happening in Iran, to the theocracy’s repression of its people, and that makes us even more determined to continue on our path to one day have a brighter future.

Q. After the loss of your eye, have you ever thought you shouldn’t have gone to the protests?

A. Never. There is a symbol of honor on my face and that is my eye. It is an honor. That day, I was fighting for the future of my people, of the nation, of the freedom of my country. If I look back, I would do exactly the same. I would go to the streets and join the protests. After the operations, with my eye protected, I kept going to the street. I never stopped, until I left the country.

Q. Do you think that the regime could intensify its violence after the awarding of a prize that recognizes the struggle of the Iranian people against the system?

A. Iran is repressing its people now more than ever, although in reality it is destroying itself. It’s obvious that this kind of international award is going anger them and they are going to keep violating the innocent population, but the struggle of the Iranian people will continue until the end. Those who are in power thought that after losing my eye, I would lock myself at home, silenced. But my reaction has been the opposite, because what has happened to me has made me more decisive and stronger to follow my path.

Q. Do you think that the EU, apart from awarding a prize, can help the Iranian people somehow?

A. Awards are very important and we appreciate that they give them to us. But, obviously, they are not enough. They should take specific steps against the Islamic Republic, like for example designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization and never giving them another visa to enter the EU. Their children live freely outside of Iran, while the people suffer from the dictatorship’s repression. Those children of the revolutionary forces should not be able to go to the best universities in the rest of the world. They would have to go back to Iran and live under the regime that their parents administer. Also, the EU should not invite the Iranian government to international conferences. They cannot be allowed to have a voice.

Q. The Islamic Republic maintained its power intact after major protests since 1979. What has to happen for this regime to be overthrown?

A. We live under a system that has learned its worst techniques for repression from other dictatorships. Iran has executed at least eight men who were related to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. We are sick of this, but we choose to fight against the Islamic regime that has been killing us for 44 years because we have hope that someday we will have rights. Right now, we need external support. I repeat: the EU should designate the IRGC a terrorist organization and stop the sale of arms to those who are killing us. Iranians have been very disappointed to see that the EU has not approved this request.

Q. What rights are important to you?

A. There are things that the West does not see as significant, because the citizenry has always had them. But for someone like me, who is not used to freedom, here I can feel it in a tangible way. For example, I can choose what clothes to wear in the street, I can choose if I want to laugh at something. In a dictatorial regime you don’t have permission to laugh out loud or have fun with your friends. You can’t even ride a bicycle. Here in Europe you can do that. That’s the difference.

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