34 Iran women prisoners on hunger strike; Nobel peace laureate jailed.

Thirty-four women prisoners in an Iranian prison went on a hunger strike to commemorate the second anniversary of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and the death of Mahsa Amini. This movement began after Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in custody due to allegedly violating the dress code for women. The hunger strike was in solidarity with the people of Iran protesting against the government’s oppressive policies.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who has been advocating against the compulsory hijab and the death penalty in Iran, has been in and out of jail, staging hunger strikes for her cause. She emphasized the fight for democracy, freedom, and equality against oppressive theocratic rule on her official X account.

UN experts have accused Iran of denying Mohammadi proper healthcare and subjecting her to physical violence in prison. Her children received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in 2023 while she was on hunger strike in solidarity with Iran’s Baha’i community.

The protests following Amini’s death in 2022 rattled Iran’s leadership but were brutally suppressed by authorities, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.