Thirty-four women prisoners went on a hunger strike in an Iranian prison on Sunday to mark two years since protests erupted against clerical authorities over the death of Mahsa Amini, the foundation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said.
Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd whose death in custody after her arrest for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women sparked the demonstrations.
The prisoners had abstained from food “in solidarity with the protesting people of Iran, against the government’s oppressive policies”.
Mohammadi, who has campaigned against the compulsory wearing of the hijab and the death penalty in Iran, has been in Tehran's Evin prison since November 2021.
She has spent much of the past decade in and out of jail and has staged repeated hunger strikes.
"On the second anniversary of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, we reaffirm our commitment to achieving democracy, freedom, and equality and to defeating theocratic despotism," Mohammadi said in a statement on her official X account.
Mohammadi's children received the Nobel Peace Price on her behalf in 2023 while she was incarcerated.
According to her family, she was on hunger strike at the time in solidarity with the Baha'i community, Iran's largest religious minority who say they are targeted by discrimination.
Cape Times