Swedish Member of the European Parliament Abir Al-Sahlani chopped off her hair while delivering a speech in the EU Assembly in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday to express solidarity with Iranian women, after anti-hijab protests have swept the country.
Her act came amid widespread protests in Iran against the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody last month. Amini was detained for allegedly breaching Iran's strict Islamic dress code that requires women to cover their hair with a hijab.
Speaking in Parliament, Iraqi-born Abir Al-Sahlani said that people will stand by women of Iran until they are free.
Al-Sahlani said "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi", which in Kurdish means, "Woman, Life, Freedom", before snipping off her ponytail.
Speaking to CNN later, Al-Sahlani said that the courage shown by the women of Iran is unprecedented. Yet, world leaders failed to show support to them. Though world leaders met a few weeks ago at the United Nations General Assembly, there was no mention of the fight for freedom of Iranian women.
“We owe them that. At least let their voices echo in the beacon of democracy," Al-Sahlani said.
Iran has been grappling with one of the biggest nationwide unrest in years since the death of Mahsa Amini. The protests have spread to London, Paris, Rome and Madrid.
According to rights groups, at least 130 people have died following the crackdown of security forces and the volunteer Basij militia on the protesters, Evening Standard reported.
Over the last few weeks, women around the world have taken to social media to share videos of them cutting their hair. Leading French actors Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert have also lent support to the Iranian women by cutting locks of their hair.
