As a woman, I was sentenced to prison. I was sentenced to lashes, and I survived one kidnapping attempt and two assassination plots—simply for expressing myself. Many other Iranian women can testify that they have faced the brutality of the morality police simply for showing their hair. 

Many mothers are facing repercussions simply for asking why the regime killed their loved ones.

That is the reality of the Islamic Republic, the regime you are whitewashing.

Fatima Payman’s statement sounds like it was written by the propaganda arm of the Islamic Republic itself. According to her, Iran is an “incredible place” for women, yes, so incredible that women are legally sentenced to lashes for not covering their hair. So incredible that they’re shot in the eyes, imprisoned, and murdered for daring to demand freedom.

The Islamic Republic doesn’t “allow” women to participate, it controls, polices, and punishes them. If women had a real voice, why are so many of them in prison?

Why are three women on death row right now, waiting to be executed at any moment for supporting “Woman, Life, Freedom”? Why was Mahsa Amini killed for a few strands of hair?

The only thing women are “ensured” under the Islamic Republic is systematic oppression. Fatima Payman’s words erase the suffering of millions of Iranian women who resist this gender apartheid regime every single day. If she truly believes women’s voices are heard, I invite her to go to Tehran, remove her hijab, and try speaking freely. Let’s see how long she enjoys this so-called “democratic process” before she’s thrown in prison.

You owe an apology to millions of Iranians whose suffering you have dismissed and erased with your blatant lies.