Gender Apartheid and the Future of Iran A Conversation with Alinejad and Mohammed (Episode

Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=pOE40oe_ZDU

🖤 "We fought for freedom, but lost it all. Now, even my mom's hijab is just a black shadow of oppression." 🌑💔

Reflecting on my journey and the changes I've witnessed, I remember vividly how my mother's appearance transformed after the regime took over. Her colorful hijab turned absolutely black, and all you could see was her nose. This stark change symbolizes how the Islamic revolution became a revolution against women and minorities. We lost not only the political freedom we sought but also the social freedoms we already had. Initially, we demanded greater freedom because of the lack of political freedom, which is why we overthrew the regime. But now, people are suffering from poverty, and the promised freedoms have not materialized.

I faced significant backlash from the Western left for my campaign against compulsory hijab, accused of causing Islamophobia. It's ironic because as soon as the regime took power, tens of thousands of leftists were killed, imprisoned, or disappeared. Yet, some Western leftists think they can ally themselves with Islamic theocracies like Hamas, believing they will end up as friends. In reality, they are all going to be slaughtered.

I was very excited about the Women's March on Washington, shouting "my body, my choice" and waving a headscarf on a stick in the streets. But figures like Linda Sarsour and Ilhan Omar reacted by blocking, bullying, and trying to cancel me, even calling me a mouthpiece of Trump. It’s baffling to be labeled as Islamophobic. Phobia is an irrational fear, but my fear of Islamic ideology, the Taliban, and the Islamic Republic is entirely rational. You'd be foolish not to fear being raped or killed for renouncing Islam.

"Western feminists wear hijabs in Iran, empowering our oppressors instead of standing with us. 😔👎"

Now, all of them are saying that they stand with the people of Iran, but when we are the warriors, they don’t care; they want us to be victims and own our narrative. Ilhan Omar, for instance, claims to stand with the people, but I told her she’s standing on the wrong side of history by bullying Iranian women. My fear of Islamic ideology, the Taliban, and the Islamic Republic is rational. You'd be foolish not to fear being raped or killed for renouncing Islam. When it comes to the women of Iran, Western feminists have utterly failed by empowering the oppressors to go after women. Iranian authorities have told me in interviews, "Who are you? How dare you challenge Islamic doctrine when the high representative of the EU wears a hijab to respect our culture?" The Iranian regime uses Western feminists who wear the hijab in Iran to oppress us, saying, "Look, even female politicians from the West respect our laws." The hijab is one of the most visible symbols of oppression and the main pillar of a religious dictatorship. Teenagers in Iran protest against compulsory hijab by showing their middle fingers to the surveillance cameras meant to identify unveiled women. Western feminists only care about their own political agendas and allies, not about Iranian women. I thought female politicians in the U.S. would unite to support me because I’m a woman, but their response has been disappointing. Transnational repression is in the DNA of the Islamic Republic—terrorizing, killing, torturing, executing, and kidnapping people. What breaks me and makes me frustrated is the reaction of those I had hoped would support me.

"Female politicians stay silent on our suffering, leaving us feeling betrayed. 😢💔"

I was like, this is the moment that finally all the female Democrats, all the female politicians here, they will get united because I'm a woman. What breaks me, what makes me frustrated, is the reaction of those whom I had hoped would support me because they're women. Why, when it comes to the women's march, I am with you, but when it comes to raping Jews, to killing Iranian women, kicking women of Afghanistan, you're not with us? Why can someone answer this simple question? It's inexplicable. None of the female congresswomen, none of them condemned the assassination plot against me. None of the Democrats, none of the female politicians, just a complete breakdown of deterrence. They keep saying that when I ask them to be firm and take strong actions, because lack of action emboldens the regime, they say that we are not at war with the Islamic Republic. What do you expect us to do?

The Islamic Republic is at war with you, with the United States of America, with your own allies, with its own women. America is—or was—a beacon of hope for millions of us. I came here because I thought this is the land of liberty, where the First Amendment is sacred, and we can do a lot here. The lack of actions actually sends signals to the regime that they can do whatever they want; there is no punishment for them. They say that we sacrifice our lives, we get killed in the streets, we face rape, but at the end of the day, this is the American government trying to save the Islamic Republic. Some of them even make jokes, calling him Ayatollah Biden.

Sanctions themselves are not sufficient when they're not even applied to the oppressors. Dictators are more united than democratic countries. You should get united—all of you, the democratic countries—downplay or downgrade your diplomatic relations with the hostage-takers. This is how you can end hostage-taking diplomacy.

"Dictators unite, but democratic countries must stand together to end hostage-taking and gender apartheid. 💪🌍"

I had a meeting with Prime Minister Rutte in the Netherlands and I informed him that there are 52 companies in the Netherlands that know how to bypass sanctions in trading with the members of the Revolutionary Guards. I warned President Macron in France that sanctions are not sufficient when the Revolutionary Guards, the high-ranking members of this terrorist organization, are really good at using Putin, Maduro, and China to evade sanctions. Dictators are more united than democratic countries. We don't see that, for instance, right now, the US citizen is in prison in Iran, British citizen, Swedish citizen, German citizen, French citizens—they are in Iran being used like bargaining chips. This is not the way that hostage takers understand; they only understand one language, the language of pressure. You should get united, all of you, the democratic countries, downplay or downgrade your diplomatic relations with the hostage takers. This is how you can end hostage-taking diplomacy. President Biden, when he was young, was pro-banning South Africa because of apartheid. If a regime kills women for showing their hair, is that not gender apartheid? If a regime that actually kicks out half of the population from a stadium is not gender apartheid, then how do you call it? A regime that does not even allow me to ride a bicycle, to dance, to sing—singing solo is forbidden for Iranian women. Iranians are dancing, showing their happiness. The family members of those who got killed by the order of Ibrahim Raisi are making videos of themselves dancing. United Nations Security Council having one minute of silence, the leaders of Europe calling Soleimani a national hero. I was like, he is a terrorist. He killed Syrian children before ISIS even existed; he went to Syria to attack those who were trying to overthrow Bashar Assad's regime. I don't want to say that the Western governments are collaborating with the terrorist regime, but how do you call it when now Ebrahim Raisi, the Butcher of Tehran, is receiving sympathy from the leaders of democratic countries? Iranians are hostages right now. The whole nation is hostage in the hands of a regime which tells women in the 21st century that you're second-class citizens, telling them that we rape you or you deserve to be raped if you simply show your hair. It was his policy that young girls, when they end up going to prison, be raped to make sure that they're not virgins so that they don't go to heaven. I was very excited to meet with the foreign minister of Germany; she's a feminist. But her team was like, okay, but in private because now we're trying to negotiate with the Islamic Republic. Christiane Amanpour was my hero, but when I asked her for a picture, she said, 'Let's get a picture, but can you not publish it because I'm going to have an interview with Ebrahim Raisi, so you're a little bit controversial.' I want a lot of journalists and feminists to understand that the killers of my country only understand one language—language of power and pressure. Don't call me radical. I'm not radical. Radicals are those who are lashing women, those who are raping women. My dream is to walk shoulder to shoulder with my mother in my beautiful country. I just want to have the same freedom that you take for granted here in America. Is that too much to ask?

"Freedom isn't a luxury; it's a right. Stand with Iranian women fighting for their lives and culture. 🌸✊"

My dream is to walk shoulder to shoulder with my mother in my beautiful country. I just want to have the same freedom that you take for granted here in America. I want a lot of journalists and feminists like her to understand that the killers of my country only understand one language—the language of power and pressure. Stand in solidarity with your sister, and don't call me radical. Iranians, especially the young generation, are very progressive now. The majority of the young generation is against not only the Islamic Republic but also Islam because of the oppression they have faced for years and years. What's really unique about Iranians is that they have always remembered their Persian core. It's funny when I hear people in the West saying that hijab or Islam is our culture. You are educating me about my own culture while I see Iranian people facing punishment for celebrating Persian culture rather than Islamic culture. I believe that the Islamic Republic and Islamic culture are the minorities in Iran. They have the power, money, and everything to change the narrative in the West to downplay the young generation and Iranian culture. I've never met a confused Persian Jew at this point; they are right next to ex-Muslims in understanding what I'm talking about. When the Islamic Republic and Hamas coordinated an attack against civilians, Iran was the only country where you didn't see even a moment of hesitation among Iranians to stand with their sisters, to condemn the attack, to condemn Hamas, and to condemn the brutality. Even the Jewish-controlled media and Hollywood failed to condemn the rape of Jewish women. It's the exact same reason why they keep quiet when Iranian women are being raped and killed by the regime—because it's the wrong oppressor. If the oppressor is American or Israeli, of course, but if your oppressor is Muslim, even if it's a Muslim terrorist, then you are the wrong kind of victim and you won't get the support.

"Allowing terrorists in the name of diversity is not progress. Stay vigilant. 🚫🕵️‍♂️"

Even the Jewish-controlled media and Jewish-controlled Hollywood failed to condemn the rape of Jewish women. It's the exact same reason why they keep quiet when Iranian women are being raped and killed by the regime—because it's the wrong oppressor. I don't think people in the West really understand how empowered the terrorists are right now and all of their supporters. After 9/11, people didn't have smartphones; now you see it. Recently, I heard how even Osama Bin Laden became a hero through TikTok. The young generation suddenly found a letter from Bin Laden to America, and I was like, this is dangerous. The youth are in agreeance; they hate America too.

In Western Europe, they simply have too many Islamists in England to have a ready answer to the problem, which suggests an immigration failure and also just a failure to contain the spread of dangerous ideas. There are more than 700 members of the Revolutionary Guards there; they've been welcomed without any background check by the Canadian government. They're trying to be politically correct, trying to bring more people in the name of diversity, and being politically correct, they're welcoming terrorists. Mavan is a terrorist; he's actually teaching at Harvard University. Princeton University is full of Islamic Republic agents, and that's beyond sad because these are the people who worked for the Islamic Republic government and are here promoting Islamic ideology. N Sultan's family applied for a visa twice, and Canada refused to give them a visa, but they gave a visa to the chief of police of Iran, and he was seen in a gym in Canada standing next to an unveiled woman.