Iranians, supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Stockholm, Sweden, held a gathering honoring the International Women’s Day.
The event in Stockholm attended by political figures and women’s rights activists from Sweden and other countries including Ms. Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian presidential candidate. Mrs. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, chairwoman of the NCRI’s Women’s Committee was also present at this event.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI’s president-elect, sent a video message to this conference, declaring this year’s International Women’s Day as “The day of women martyred in the Iran uprising in November 2019.”
“On behalf of the Iranian people and Resistance, and in the name of my martyred and captive sisters, I declare 2020 International Women’s Day as the Day of Women Martyred in the Iran Uprising in November 2019,” said Mrs. Rajavi.
Referring to women’s role throughout the four decades of struggle for freedom in Iran, particularly the MEK’s female members, Mrs. Rajavi said: “Since the 1980s, thousands of pioneering women, a vast majority from the PMOI, have died in the struggle against the clerical regime. Ashraf Rajavi led the way in this struggle. During the difficult times in Ashraf, Iraq, PMOI women such as Zohreh Gha’emi, Giti Givehchian, Saba Haft-Baradaran, and Assiyeh Rakhshani offered their lives to keep aloft the flag of Iran’s freedom. And today, in the ranks of Resistance Units and in the frontlines of the uprisings, courageous women of Iran are commanding the struggle to overthrow the mullahs’ misogynous tyranny. Indeed, what better and clearer testament than such profound sense of responsibility and impact is needed to confirm the qualifications and competence of Iranian women.”
“The regime’s officials, commanders of Khamenei’s ruthless Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the state media have repeatedly spoken of the leading role of young women in the uprisings. They have acknowledged that these women were leaders of the gatherings and protests in November 2019 and January 2020. Yes, it is true. The more significant truth, however, is that these vanguard women, who are at the forefront of the struggle for regime change, will ultimately bring down the religious fascism. By relying on the selfless endeavors of their pioneers, the Iranian people are pursuing a plan to liberate Iran. This plan can be summarized in four words: Freedom, democracy, equality, and emancipation,” Mrs. Rajavi added.
“Women must particularly enjoy the right to equal participation in the country’s political leadership. The unflinching resolve of the Iranian people, Resistance and arisen women will turn these prospects into reality,” Mrs. Rajavi declared.
Referring to the current situation of the Iranian regime, its looming and inevitable downfall and its crises such as being backlisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the failure of its sham parliamentary elections and ongoing protests in Iran, Iraq and other countries against the regime; and women’s role in this regard, Mrs. Rajavi said: “The mullahs’ regime is besieged by mounting social protests. The Iranian people rejected Khamenei through their resounding NO to the mullahs’ most scandalous election farce. And the inclusion of the regime in FATF’s blacklist has put the mullahs in a financial stranglehold. Iraq, which Khamenei had declared as the regime’s strategic depth has seen the eruption of a major uprising against its Iranian-proxy rulers. The brave women of Iraq are also playing an important role in those protests.”
While referring to the coronavirus outbreak in Iran with over 500 casualties, as reported by the MEK, and the regime’s inaction in handling this crisis, Mrs. Rajavi said: “Under the mullahs’ rule, every natural calamity and every preventable problem from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to floods to earthquakes, turn into a major disaster. The people of Iran and women in particular are the first victims of the mullahs’ depravity.”
I call on the World Health Organization to document all the facts and figures on the extent of the #Coronavirus in #Iran and put it at the disposal of the public and relevant international organizations to save the lives of the people of Iran and other countries. #IWD2020 pic.twitter.com/iChU0xwzqh
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) February 29, 2020
“I urge all physicians, nurses and hospital staff to publicize their information quickly in order to save the lives of the Iranian people and to thwart the regime’s cover-up. I especially call on the World Health Organization to document all the facts and figures on the extent of the Coronavirus in Iran and put it at the disposal of the public and relevant international organizations to save the lives of the people of Iran and other countries,” Mrs. Rajavi added.
The participants of the conference also paid tribute to the martyrs of the nationwide Iran protests, particularly female martyrs, by holding their pictures beside red flowers.