policies to try to boost the uk economy, despite the turmoil it s created in the markets. now on bbc news, it s hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. two weeks ago, 22 year old mahsa amini died in iranian police custody. she d been arrested for allowing strands of hair to escape her headscarf. since then, iran has been rocked by protests led by women demanding freedom and equality. it could be the most serious threat to iran s theocratic leadership since the islamic revolution. for my guest, it s a new phase in a long struggle. masih alinejad began an online movement demanding women s rights from exile. it s made her a regime target. is hers a struggle that can be won? masih alinejad in new york city, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. it s a pleasure to have you on the show. now, you have been campaigning for women s rights in iran, both from inside the country and from exile in the united states, for decades. have you been
for my guest, it s a new phase in a long struggle. masih alinejad began an online movement demanding women s rights from exile. it s made her a regime target. is hers a struggle that can be won? masih alinejad in new york city, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. it s a pleasure to have you on the show. now, you have been campaigning for women s rights in iran, both from inside the country and from exile in the united states, for decades. have you been surprised by the speed and the scale of events in the last couple of weeks? to be honest, i knew the anger. i have been publishing the videos of iranian women, for eight years, practising their civil disobedience, many of them bravely filming themselves while telling the police, the morality police, it s none of your business. i don t want to cover my hair. most of them are the true leaders of the change within the society. they re leading a movement against compulsory hijab. so for me, now, the brutal death
for a vacation. mahsa came on her own. so that created a huge anger within the society, believe me. this is the time that the western media, western politicians, who keep asking me the same question and putting the blame on me, to understand that iranian women have agency. many of them ask me to be their voices. let me give you one example. shima was only 2a years old, one of the women who joined my campaign white wednesdays four years ago, and then she was interrogated, and she was told that, masih alinejad is using you. you know what she told to her interrogator? she said, i m using masih alinejad until the day that i have a voice inside my own country. not only her. iranian regime telling the mothers of the victims, mothers forjustice, that, hey, masih s living miles away from you, and now she s using you. she s telling you, cry forjustice.” you know
to be honest, i knew the anger. i have been publishing the videos of iranian women, for eight years, practising their civil disobedience, many of them bravely filming themselves while telling the police, the morality police, it s none of your business. i don t want to cover my hair. most of them are the true leaders of the change within the society. they re leading a movement against compulsory hijab. so for me, now, the brutal death of mahsa amini, for millions of iranian women, becoming a turning point. and it is a tipping point for the islamic republic. believe me, this isjust the beginning of an end, the end of the.regime. well, you have an extraordinary reach, thanks to social media. millions of iranians see your social media platforms and they. many of them communicate with you. so, what are you seeing right now in terms of
if the iranian authorities do indeed launch a credible investigation? because the case of mahsa amini is undoubtedly tragic and terrible, but we don t know the full truth of why and how she died in police custody. we know why she was picked up by the morality police, because of the exposed pieces of hair, but we don t know exactly what happened in detention. if there is an investigation which iranians could believe in in some way, would that make a difference? not at all. i mean, honestly, you trust the killers to do an investigation about the killing of mahsa amini? no. iranian people, they don t trust ebrahim raisi, khamenei. they don t trust anyone in islamic republic to do investigation . what kind of investigation? right now, they re killing people in the streets. like, you just check the videos, that. how innocent women getting