The Parc Científic de Barcelona adheres to the Global Health and Research community and their Gender and Equity Committees, who sign below and ratify this statement written by The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

Today, 25 November 2022, within the context of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we, as all our international community of researchers and all the staff, show our support, solidarity and sorority to the women and girls of Iran in their rightful and peaceful fight for their rights.

We strongly condemn the violence and humiliations against the women and girls and the extreme violence and repression that the demonstrators have faced recently during rallies. We send our deepest condolences to the family of Mahsa Amini, Nika Shakarami, Hadis Najafi, Sarina Esmailzadeh and to all the families of the more than two hundred assassinated persons during the protests. We echo their voices for Women, Life and Freedom.

Finally, we stand for the right of the Iranian people to organise themselves, protest, vote and live freely in a real democracy, exercising their rights without fear. Thus, we urge the international community to help the Iranian people, while respecting their sovereignty with the most sincere intentions at heart.

We also encourage people, at an individual level, to recognize and give voice to Iranian women through some of the following actions:

• Let’s get informed.
• Let’s get interested in their history and read books and movies like “La Jaula de Oro” or “Persepolis”.
• Let’s deconstruct the narratives that revolve around the Middle East, its women and its symbols.
• Let’s demand the media a broad and realistic coverage of the situation in countries like Iran.
• Let’s amplify their protests in social media with your hashtags or in our community.
• Let’s show up and show support.
• Let’s press our governments to help the Iranian people, while respecting their sovereignty.
• Let’s donate money or help to organisations that fight for human rights.
• Let’s take care of the planet and its resources, because our production and consumption model directly impact the lives of other people.
• Let’s also fight against the discrimination suffered by migrant women in European countries, at their borders, in access to housing, and even in schools for wearing the veil.

To sum up, let us take responsibility and not look the other way, while the women of Iran fight for freedom.

Barcelona. November 25, 2022
(On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women)

Signing groups:

ISGlobal Equity & Gender Commission