By cutting off her hair in front of the entire chamber and urging the EU to take action against Tehran, a Swedish Euro MP joined the movement in support of Iranian women.
“We, the people and citizens in the EU, demand the unconditional and immediate halt of all violence against women and men in Iran,” said Abir al-Sahlani of the centrist Renew group late Tuesday.
“Until Iran is free our fury will be bigger than the oppressors. Until you, the women of Iran are free, we are going to stand with you,” said the deputy before taking out a pair of scissors and hacking her hair.
She yelled, “Women, Life, Freedom!” while holding up a clump of hair in a video that was uploaded to the website of the parliament.
The protests in Iran that started last month are best remembered for the images of women taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair.
They were brought on by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been detained by Iran’s “morality police,” who have a strict dress code that forbids women from wearing their hair exposed in public.
The Iranian women’s protesters’ hair-cutting Instagram video with French movie actresses Marion Cotillard, Juliette Binoche, and Isabelle Huppert coincided with the parliamentary demonstration.
The Swedish MP then charged Josep Borrell, head of EU diplomacy, in Strasbourg with failing to “take a position for the women in Iran” during the most recent UN General Assembly.
“It’s time to speak out. It’s time to act. The hands of the regime of the mullahs in Iran are stained with blood,” she said.
In response to the crackdown that has resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests, Borrell said that the EU is considering “restrictive measures” to sanction Iran.
