Letter in support of the uprising in Iran and a call to action

Dear SFUFA colleagues and President Johnson,

Copy: Representatives from TSSU, APSA, SFSS, GSS, Academic Women, SFU Iranian Club, the Peak, SFU Media Relations, and DGS, VPPEI, and VPA

Dear SFUFA colleagues and President Johnson,

It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I’m writing to you as my fellow Iranians are being killed, imprisoned, and assaulted thousands of miles away by the regime in Iran. As you have heard and seen in the past few days, Iranians, led by women, have taken to the streets in mass protests to demand their basic rights as citizens of that country. You have seen and heard many reports that this is one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring feminist uprisings in modern world history. People are standing up against the religious autocracy that has governed the country for the past 43 years.

The immediate catalyst of this uprising is the death of an innocent 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police on September 13 for not wearing her hijab properly and later that day died in custody. The regime has released bogus and unverified post-mortem reports denying any wrongdoing, while leaked evidence suggests that Mahsa died from a blow to her head while being arrested.

The protests, civil disobedience, and strikes are now in their third week and there is no sign of them subsiding. Conversely, the regime, desperate to hold on to power, has resorted to the killing and brutalization of peaceful protestors, arrests, and torture. No one is spared the iron fist of the regime as their crackdown has targeted anyone who dares to speak up including intellectuals, musicians, writers, journalists, actors, athletes, and other public figures.

Just this weekend, many university campuses across the country witnessed a gruesome assault on peaceful student protestors. As a social media post read, “They are mercilessly shooting at the brightest minds in the nation and destroying the very fabric of the Iranian society.” One of these places is Sharif University of Technology in Tehran where on Sunday night the security forces deliberately entrapped students in the university parkade and unleashed an assault on them. Sharif University doesn’t train excellent students; it trains geniuses. Literally. The atrocities of Saturday night at Sharif is not just an assault on that specific academic community, it’s an affront to the global academic family.

Many of you know, teach, and supervise Iranian students at SFU and I personally have heard from several of you about how impressed you are by our international Iranian students. They often come to us from top universities in Iran with impressive intellectual capabilities that in many cases far exceed those of students trained at the most glorified universities of the global North.

Here at SFU, on September 23, a large number of Iranian students gathered on Burnaby campus to show their support and solidarity with the movement in Iran. With most of them deeply perturbed by what is happening in their country, they had hoped to get the attention of President Johnson to explain their anguish and deep concern about their counterparts at Iranian universities. These are active members of our community at SFU, and for whom our university’s EDI agenda should be marshaled for support and solidarity. They are students, many of them international, who go through unimaginable hardship, hurdles, and bureaucracy to make it to SFU. During these trying times, they deserve our respect and our attention. While the message sent by our newly-appointed Vice-President, People, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Gilpin-Jackson, is a positive step, we can and should do more. I hope President Johnson can make the time to meet with them and other members of SFU’s Iranian community to understand their plight and support their cause.

I am writing to you as one Iranian member of our academic community, and not on behalf of the Iranian community here at SFU. I am in no position to speak on behalf of our students and colleagues who can and will brilliantly voice their concerns both collectively and individually. These are the steps that I think would be prudent to consider:

Educate ourselves about the situation in Iran, if not for our own sake, then for the sake of many Iranian students and colleagues who are in mourning these days. Supporting the women in Iran who are burning their hijab as a symbolic statement against political dictatorship, religious dogma, and mandatory strict moral codes is neither a critique of the hijab nor is it Islamophobic. Protesters in Iran are not fighting Islam; they are fighting decades of imposition of misogynistic laws on their life, bodies, and minds. They are fighting for their right to choose to wear the hijab. Not to ban it.
A statement by President Johnson, in consultation with the Iranian student body, on behalf of the university, condemning the mass arrests, assaults, and killings in Iran, especially on university campuses and specifically Sharif University of Technology.
Be the voice of Iranians on social media platforms (if you are active) and in various forums by spreading awareness about the events in Iran. And don’t forget hashtags such as #mahsaamini #woman_life_freedom #sharif_university
SFSS, GSS, SFUFA, TSSU, APSA, Academic Women’s Caucus, and other organized bodies on campus should consider releasing statements condemning the assault on students, faculty and staff at Iranian universities, specifically Sharif University, and to coordinate a national agenda for action with their counterparts in universities and colleges across Canada, and through organizations such as Canadian Federation of Students, The Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada, and The Canadian Federation of University Women to petition the Canadian government to condemn the killings of Iranians (especially students), to stop negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program, and to further impose sanctions on the regime through collaboration with its international partners.
Build bridges, connect, and consult with the Iranian constituents within SFU community, for example the Iranian Student Club (iranian@sfu.ca)
All the SFU Deans, Department Chairs, and School Directors should consider issuing statements internal to their units in solidarity with their Iranian students, staff, and faculty, and to provide funding and forums for public gatherings, conversations, dialogues, and talks on the topic.
Don’t burden your Iranian colleagues and students by asking them, “what can we do?” We’re all academics, and I’m sure we can figure this out without added pressure on our already emotionally taxed Iranian colleagues and students. Think of it this way: What would you have felt and done if Sharif University was Dalhousie University in Halifax?
Supporting and accommodating our Iranian students, RAs, TAs, and TMs during these challenging times.
Extend the deadline for admission applications and afford Iranian student applicants to SFU the same exceptional privileges offered to students from precarious circumstances such as Afghanistan and Ukraine through mechanisms already in place with Scholars at Risk and Dean of Graduate Studies Office.
Write to your MLA and MP, ask them questions and demand actions.
Attend local protests.

We are undeniably at a historical watershed moment where the women and the youth in Iran are decisively standing guard against the oppressive military machinery of the regime. The question is, who will prevail? The moral high ground and my bets are on the side that stands for justice, equality, and freedom for all Iranians.

Until that day.

Daniel Ahadi

#Woman_Life_Freedom

#mahsaamini

Dr. Daniel Ahadi

Senior Lecturer | School of Communication

At Simon Fraser University, we live and work on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.