Help Iranians in Iran
*updated 9/28/22*
If you’re here, you’ve likely heard of how Iranian Kurd Mahsa Zhina Amini was killed by Iran’s so-called “Morality Police.” Iran’s “Gasht-e Ershad” (“Morality Police”) — an outfit that has operated under numerous names and structures since 1979, and was consolidated into its current form during the first year of the Ahmadinejad presidency — is an entity I have had more than a few firsthand experiences with, and can personally attest to its brutality and irrationality.
The current protests in Iran are significant for a number of reasons, but what strikes me most is the fact that they are women-led (see threads/posts from Alex Shams and Hoda Katebi for more context) and reject the typical Islamic/monarchist binary of Iranian politics. Iranian women have risen up and are leading the calls for change because another woman was killed over her compulsory hijab. Iranian men are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Iranian women, as they should. All are calling for basic human rights, including bodily autonomy, safety, and respect.
So far, ordinary Iranians seem to be less fearful of the police state than usual. But, as protests progress, the crackdown is likely to get more brutal. If you’re looking to support Iranian’s efforts and amplify their voice, there are several ways you can support from anywhere around the world.
1. Be Their Voice
Iranians need attention and amplification. Follow knowledgeable journalists and writers to learn what’s going on each day, and share, repost, retweet the news and updates from Iran with your own networks. Be sure to use the right hashtags! (more on that below)
Below is a non-exhaustive list of writers & journalists to get you started:
- 1500 Tasvir (live reporting from inside Iran): Twitter, Instagram
- Narges Bajoghli (Johns Hopkins): Instagram
- Holly Dagres (Atlantic Council): Twitter, Instagram
- Yara Elmjouie (AJ+): Twitter, Instagram
- Dina Esfandiary (ICG): Twitter
- Farnaz Fassihi (NYT): Twitter
- Bahman Kalbasi (BBC): Twitter, Instagram
- Hoda Katebi: Twitter, Instagram
- Negar Mortazavi: Twitter, Instagram
- Jason Rezaian (WaPo): Twitter, Instagram
- Laura Rozen: Twitter
- Alex Shams: Twitter, Instagram
- Ali Vaez (ICG): Twitter
In an effort to consolidate social media amplification, organizers are asking everyone to use the following hashtags across all social media platforms:
- #MahsaAmini
- #JinaAmini
- #ZhinaAmini
- #IranProtests
- #Iran
Please note: the correct English #MahsaAmini hashtag does not have an underscore symbol, but the correct Persian hashtag does have the underscore between “Mahsa” and “Amini.”
Additionally, check out the (beautifully feminist) art coming from artists all around the world. Please post and share out (with proper artist credit) to communicate solidarity and strength through the shared global language of art: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DgRBz8EFMHHuo4SXqeZaeOsgCKTvewIo
2. Become a Signal (App) Proxy
The Iranian government has shut down mobile data in Iran and severely restricted internet access. Among other things, the encrypted messaging app Signal has been blocked.
The team behind the Signal app has a free, relatively simple way to support Iranians inside Iran by becoming a proxy for access. Here are the instructions for getting set up as a proxy: https://signal.org/blog/run-a-proxy/
For Iranians in Iran, here is more information on accessing Signal by proxy.
3. Run Snowflake to Give Internet Access
To help Iranians in Iran bypass censorship, you can download the Snowflake extension in your browser and run it for as long as you like/can. This is a passive, yet super helpful, way to help Iranians connect to the internet more safely. Snowflake is currently working in Iran.
Follow these instructions to connect to the Tor network through the Snowflake pluggable transport: https://forum.torproject.net/t/iran-circumventing-censorship-with-tor/4590
4. Donate (but not yet)
Due to sanctions, there is currently no way to donate to support people in Iran. If you see any fundraising asks, BE WARY — they are likely a scam.
According to a briefing on Friday, Sept. 23 by senior Biden-Harris Administration officials, the U.S. Treasury Department is going to provide guidance on what organizations you can donate to in order to support people in Iran. We’re still waiting for this guidance.
LAURA ROZEN: Can you all issue guidance on, if people want to donate to help women in Iran, what they’re — what they’re entitled to do legally?
SENIOR TREASURY DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, thanks so much for that question. We do have guidance on our website right now, but we’ll — that’s a great question whether we can highlight some of the available authorizations related to particularly NGOs and the ability to donate to them.
Will update here as soon as more donation information is available.
5. Call Congress
If you’re based in the U.S., call on your Members of Congress to support the people of Iran by speaking up and taking actions that will empower the Iranian people to fight for their freedom.
On Friday, Sept. 23, the U.S. Treasury Dept. issued an updated Iran General License, which means it is now possible for U.S.-based technology companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta to provide cloud and internet access services available to Iranian people. (If you work at one of these companies, perhaps you could speak up internally to urge faster action.)
In order to support the Iranian people at this critical time, the U.S. government should go further in rethinking how its blanket Iran sanctions needlessly and unjustly punish innocent Iranian people. We can call for the U.S. government to maintain targeted sanctions on specific bad actors and specific problematic institutions of Iran’s government, while releasing the Iranian people from the economic chokehold of our U.S. blanket sanctions.
- Find Your Representative: Click here to find your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives
- Find Your Senator: Click here to find your senator in the U.S. Senate
6. Show Up
Find local solidarity protests in your area, and show up to demonstrate your support. One potential source is www.instagram.com/MiddleEastMatters.info.
If there aren’t any solidarity protests in your area, take the lead and organize one! Despite government restrictions, Iranians are still finding ways to connect to the internet — and it’s encouraging and rejuvenating to see global solidarity for their cause.
*Zan, zendegi, azadi.*
