Exiled Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad on the protests to bring down Iran’s ‘hell’ for woman

As protests against Iran’s theocratic regime enter their second month, exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the issues driving the demonstrations and her belief that this movement will succeed where past revolts against the government have failed.

The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the regime’s morality police for showing her hair in public, but they have come to represent a rebellion against an entire system of what Alinejad calls “gender apartheid.”

After Alinejad left Iran in 2009, she became an outspoken advocate for women defying the requirement that they cover their hair with a hijab. Alinejad reveals how her activism has impacted her life, with Iranian leaders issuing threats against her and allegedly plotting to kidnap her, and explains why she is willing to risk her life to give a voice to the women of Iran.

Alinejad also assesses the U.S. response to the protests and accuses the Biden administration of prioritizing the pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran over protecting human rights. She suggests Western feminists and politicians have been hypocritical in their approach to the oppression of women by Iran.

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