Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and activist, delivered a searing indictment of the United Nations, her voice trembling with a grief born of witnessing unimaginable brutality. She spoke of a chilling paradox: the very regime responsible for the deaths of 40,000 Iranians now holds a position on the UN Human Rights Council.
Her three-minute speaking slot felt impossibly short, a cruel constraint when weighed against the scale of suffering in her homeland. She described seeing representatives of the Iranian government – the “killers” – strolling through the halls of the UN, adorned with luxury brands, a stark contrast to the bloodshed they’ve unleashed.
Alinejad recounted the Secretary-General’s congratulatory message to the Islamic Republic on its anniversary, a gesture she deemed a betrayal of the victims. She pointed to two women present – Kosar, who lost an eye to a revolutionary guard’s bullet, and Sima, bearing a bullet wound on her arm – as living testaments to the regime’s cruelty.
The irony was almost unbearable. Afsaneh Nadipour, a figure known for oppressing women in Iran, now oversees women’s rights globally within the UN system. This, Alinejad argued, wasn’t merely an insult to Iranians, but a slap in the face to all who cherish democratic values.
She highlighted the invitation extended to a representative implicated in theft during negotiations with the United States, a “low-class killer” slated to address the UN within days. Alinejad’s plea to Geneva was urgent: host a peace conference, invite the Iranian opposition, and envision a future free from the Islamic Republic.
Alinejad passionately condemned the West’s delayed response to the regime’s atrocities. She recalled years of being labeled “Islamophobic” for opposing compulsory hijab, while Western politicians bowed to the practice, only reacting after tragedy struck – after people like Mahsa Amini were killed.
“Stop cutting your hair,” she implored, “Cut your ties with our killers.” She demanded the immediate designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, lamenting the seven-year delay that cost tens of thousands of lives.
The activist’s voice broke as she spoke of those labeled “reformists” – individuals like Rouhani, responsible for the deaths of 1,500 people. Seeing her sister, wounded and scarred, filled her with shame for simply being alive, untouched by the violence.
Alinejad’s final words were raw with anguish and frustration. She expressed her guilt, her sleepless nights, her inability to eat, haunted by the suffering of her people. She challenged European leaders to feel the same shame for shaking hands with those “full of blood.”
She concluded with a vow to leave Geneva, forever if necessary, unable to remain silent in the face of such injustice. The weight of her people’s suffering, she declared, was a burden she could no longer bear in silence.
