Ottawa residents rally for Mahsa Amini, push for change in Iran

Hundreds of Ottawa residents gathered in front of Parliament Hill to mark the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death and to renew calls for change in Iran. (Brad Quinn/ CTV News Ottawa)

Hundreds of Ottawa residents gathered in front of Parliament Hill to mark the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death and to renew calls for change in Iran.

Ava Alavi, a theatre director living in Ottawa told CTV News Ottawa the Iranian diaspora came together Sunday to remember Amini and reiterate their demands from the regime in Iran.

“Nothing has ended,” Alavi said.

“We haven’t gotten what we want, and as we speak, we still have people in prison who are in danger.”

She says immigrating is unfortunately one of the only options for those living in Iran who want a taste of freedom, and that’s what motivates people to participate in rallies across Canada.

Alavi notes that the rally is meant to address this issue.

"We say: Women, Life, Freedom," she said. "It's our only way of showing solidarity."

Conservative Member of Parliament, Melissa Lantsman was among the MPs who also participated in the rally.

Amini died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by Iran’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. She was 22.

Her death sparked protests calling for freedom across the country. A monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.

Seeing a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf has become more common on the streets of Iranian cities, two years after the protests the incident sparked, according to a report by The Associated Press.

There's no government official or study acknowledging the phenomenon, which began as Iran entered its hot summer months and power cuts in its overburdened electrical system became common. But across social media, videos of people filming neighborhood streets or just talking about a normal day in their life, women and girls can be seen walking past with their long hair out over their shoulders, particularly after sunset.

This defiance comes despite what United Nations investigators describe as “expanded repressive measures and policies” by Iran's theocracy to punish them — though there's been no recent catalyzing event like Amini's death to galvanize demonstrators.

With files from The Associated Press