Voices raised at UW silent protest for woman killed in Iran

At what was supposed to be a silent protest, the University of Waterloo community expressed outrage over the recent death of a woman in Iran.

The Tuesday protest was the second at UW in the past month and one of many held across the world as violence in Iran intensifies.

These come following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in the custody of the country's morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely.

"We want to be the voice of Iranian people, which is our people, to all of the world," said demonstrator Redin Pouri. "To show the world how the Iranian regime is bad and dictators. That's our message. That's the Iranian message. The only thing we can do here to support our people and the voice of those people being killed every day in Iran right now."

The Students' Association of Iran organized a silent protest last week to raise concerns over what is happening back home.

They say communication with relatives and friends in Iran has been severed as the government restricts internet access in the wake of violent clashes between residents and police.

Iranian state officials report at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since demonstrations began on Sept. 17.

University of Waterloo's president released a statement condemning gender-based violence ahead of the protest.

I was deeply saddened to wake up to news of the death in Pakistan of a former #UWaterloo student, Sara Inam. Sara was killed as a result of intimate partner violence. The continued prevalence of gender-based violence here in Canada and around the world weighs heavily on us all.

— Vivek Goel (@UWaterlooPres) September 26, 2022

He also touched on the recent death of former UW student Sarah Inam, who was killed as a result of intimate partner violence in Pakistan last week.