In her article of 10 October 2022, Anna Mahjar-Barducci – a MEMRI Senior Research Fellow – calls us to never forget the name of “Jina” Amini. The 22-year-old girl that was tortured and killed by the “religious morality police” of Iran’s Islamic Republic. Her name was Jina , a beautiful Kurdish name, meaning “life.”
In her official documents, she was registered as “Mahsa,” a Persian name permitted by the Islamic Republic. Iran forbids and denies names that are not on their approved Persian and Islamic list, names that represent ethnic nationalism or regional pride are banned. Yet, at home, she was Jina. This is the name her family used to call her, this is the name her mother uttered, while crying on her grave.
“Let us not forget her death and let us not cancel her Kurdish identity. The fight for freedom is in opposition to the Islamic Republic’s discrimination against women, against minorities, and against Kurds. Jina was both a woman and a Kurd.
Please read the full article from Anna Mahjar-Barducci via the platform of MEMRI.
