Maryam Banihashemi was the first woman in Switzerland to have her hair cut in solidarity with the protest in Iran. Every time she went to a demonstration in September, she cut off a lock of her hair. Her black locks have since gotten eight inches shorter — and are still uneven.
Since this gesture, she has been the face of the Iranian protest in Switzerland. She knows all the politicians – and they know Banihashemi: when Federal Councilor Alain Berset sees her on the Bundesplatz in Bern, he raises his index finger, pretends to have noticed something and goes back to the Bundeshaus. He’s not coming back.
Banihashemi appreciates Switzerland: she drinks Rivella, loves the Alps, but is disappointed in the government. Condemning the events was correct, but not enough, she says. “Switzerland must stop supporting the regime.”
In her petition she demands that the Iranian ambassadors be expelled; that personal sanctions be imposed on those responsible and their families, by refusing them visas and freezing their bank accounts; that technology companies will be asked to establish free internet access in Iran to circumvent censorship; and that an efficient financial channel be opened so that political prisoners can be released on bail and escape torture, rape and death.
There are no credit cards, no PayPal, no Twint in Iran – the second most heavily sanctioned country in the world after Russia.
Up at 4 am
The mullahs have cost them a lifetime of strength: in Iran to circumvent their regime and, well, to overthrow it. Her head turns nowhere else. She falls asleep on her cell phone late at night and wakes up at 4am.
She has suspended her work as a freelancer. Her status on Whatsapp reads: “Working on the Iranian Revolution.” The wording is important to her: it is a revolution, not an insurrection.
In 2009, Iranians protested against the rigged presidential election. More than 70 of them died and thousands were arrested. Banihashemi also took to the streets and says: “Then we thought: reforms are enough. But we were wrong. The regime must disappear.”
But when they demonstrated three years ago against the sudden rise in gas prices (the regime shut down the internet and killed 1,500 people in five days, according to Reuters), the concern was too specific.
“This time it’s different. This time it’s different.” She repeats the phrase like a prayer to be answered.
The first bikini line
When 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini was arrested by the vice squad for wearing her hijab too loosely and died on September 16, every Iranian woman knew: it could have been me. Also Banihashemi.
She lived in Iran for 34 years – and therefore a limited life: as a child she started wearing a hijab. As a teenager, she was punished at school for allegedly plucking her eyebrows. At the age of 17, she married a boy who she felt could easily have been her first boyfriend, but the family wanted him to be her first husband. She was divorced at 22. And when she was working, she couldn’t go to the gym after work because the gym was only open to women during the day. Women and men play sports separately in Iran.
Banihashemi could have studied in Canada. Her parents wanted her to go. They thought she was too rebellious to stay in Iran. As a child, she wanted to shave her head so she could ride a bike like her brothers and cousins. Later, she insisted on going for a walk with the men of the family. Because in the mountains, where there was no one, she could take off her headscarf and be free.
But Banihashemi wanted to stay in Iran, improve the country from within. She studied business administration at Sharif University in Tehran, whose campus was closed a month ago because students demonstrated there. She took courses at the University of Koblenz. There she met her German-Iranian husband, with whom she later followed to Switzerland because of a job offer. They have lived in Horgen for six years with their 4-year-old daughter.
Between protection and pain
Her brothers also live abroad. Your mother passed away. Only her father is still in Iran. When he heard of her activism, he was furious. Although he supports the protests and was involved in politics himself, he believes that other people’s children should fight and not their own. Because every fight hurts.
Banihashemi has had no contact with her father for five weeks. She received an anonymous message on Instagram and Twitter: “We know where you live. We are after your father.” She wants to protect him.
She cannot visit him in Iran. She would be arrested upon entry, she is sure of that. She says, “Iran must become a free country so that I can go back.”
A free country
What would a free Iran look like? “Some want another kingdom, others argue for a Kurdish state – ideas vary. But for that to happen, the country needs to become secular and democratic.” Iran is considered “authoritarian” according to the 2021 Democracy Index.
There are plenty of good Iranians who can lead the country to democracy – at home and abroad. But those in Iran cannot stand out like those in exile.
As an example, Banihashemi cites Masih Alinejad. The journalist lives in the US and has been publishing videos of Iranian women taking off their headscarves since 2014.
or Hamed Esmailion. The writer and dentist lives in Canada and lost his wife and daughter in the Ukrainian plane PS752, which was shot down by the Iranian government in 2020. It is especially popular with the working class and students.
Also the Shah’s son Reza Palhavi add them up. He advocates a secular state. But the demonstrators on the street have little to do with him – he belongs to a different generation. His followers are wealthy and elite. He has lived abroad since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
“Since 1979, many Iranians have been skeptical of leadership from exile.” At that time, Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah’s government from France. He is considered the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran – an era from which Iranians want to emancipate.
perspective of statelessness
For Banihashemi, this emancipation should not take too long: her Iranian passport is valid for another three years and she will not be able to apply for Swiss citizenship for another four years. If the revolution has not materialized by then, it would be stateless.
She hopes that one day all Iranians abroad will be able to choose where they want to be. In the end, every fight for freedom is about being able to choose: who you want to be, and where, and what you want to wear there.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
