It’s now been 12 months since the death of Mahsa Amini. Over that time, there has been a lot of achievement and certainly some setbacks. Many of these setbacks have come at the hands of western nations who have sided with the regime, rather than the people of Iran. Despite what the regime says, the US is not the great satan to them. The Democratic party have proven to be the saviours of the regime. So eager they are to ink a nuclear deal that is not a deal. They’ve released billions, not enforeced existing sanctions and have given lip service, but not real tangible backing to those seeking freedom and democracy. The same freedom and democracy that many overseas enjoy.
So over the last 12 months, I have observed these things. I’ve also observed the infighting and the incoherence of a strategy. All along I have been thinking, surely someone has thought is this and surely someone has an idea of what to do. As nothing has been stated, I have put together my own thoughts.
As someone living overseas, one of the most important things that needs to be done is to designate IRGC as a terrorist entity. This is our purpose and should drive all of our activities.
To achieve this, we need to undertake multiple activities, which fall across these three areas:
- Advocate;
- Engage; and
- Boycott.
They are all connected, but for ease of clarity, I have them as a separate core pillar/ activity.
ADVOCATE
Living in a democracy means that politicians want our votes, together we are an influential force. Use our democratic rights (e.g. letter writing, calling, social media, rallies) to demand our governments take tangible action and list IRGC as a terrorist organisation
I haven’t seen clear messages about what to say, hence my suggestions are:
1) National security. You will know of your own country what has been done. Keep it factual and focus it on internal safety and security. Share your own personal stories (eg surveillance at rallies etc) and your genuine fears for your safety.
2) Spreading hate and ideology within your country. Whether it’s through mosques or Islamic centres, there is precedent for this and likely evidence for you to collate and provide. This includes anti-Semitic activities and propaganda.
3) IRGC role in spreading terror directly and through proxies. There’s been a lot of research on this. Provide this as proof & why it’s impacting the national interest of your country. Include their role in Ukraine and how this impacts the interests of these Western countries.
My main advice here is to keep it local as much as possible. The IRGC listing in my view is different to pressing for sanctions and other repercussions resulting from human rights abuses. If these government were solely driven by human rights, they wouldn’t be shaking hands with many dictators and human rights abusers, so this is not going to be the reason why they proscribe #IRGCTerrorists. Let’s come together and share what has and hasn’t worked.
ENGAGE
In order to really push for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organization, we not only have to activate our own community, we need to also activate those outside our community. This is based on experience.
Having broad public support in this case, where these Western governments do not want to act, is going to be very helpful. These governments want to ignore us, but with more people with us, they’ll be forced to start listening.
The purpose of engagement is to have more people asking for IRGC to be listed as a terrorist org. through fostering alliances and delegitimising Islamic Regime as representatives of the Iranian people. To mainstream, we need to get our marketing hats on. I’ve been thinking long and hard about who we want to tap into and therefore what the messaging should be. From some discussions with advertising type folk, our best bet is to have those with a social conscious to start with.
I have two personas in mind.
- an older ‘Amnesty member’;
- b) a younger social activist.
It’s important to know these personas because each will have a different strategy to engage with.
Older Amnesty member
They are university educated. They work in higher education, law, corporate or health.
They’re over 50. They have children, but the children are a little older so less dependent. They enjoy going to the theatre, and out to dinner. They holiday in Europe and sometimes go to exotic locations like Africa or Asia. They usually vote progressive or independent.
They call, text or use email. Have Facebook to stay in touch with friends and sometimes Twitter for news. They usually get their news from ‘reputable sources’ (e.g. in Australia – ABC, SBS). They support diversity and inclusion and action on climate change. Support refugees.
Key messages: Lead with women’s rights and human rights abuses (political prisoners, executions). Talk about the safety of Iranian refugees or activists in the host country. Call to action: lobby government to list IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Young activist
About this persona: They are university educated and are under 40 years old. They don’t have children. They enjoy travel, seeing friends and going out for dinner.
The favoured travel destinations may be internal to their country with a campervan, or places such as South East Asia. They shun brands that they see as not demonstrating environmental or social values. They vote for progressive parties.
They are digital natives and get their news online only. They work in creative industries, IT, They demand flexibility and are open to discussing gender and mental health. Their values include LGBTQIA+ rights, sustainability and climate action.
They prefer text/ instant messaging as a form or communication. They use Tik Tok and Instagram to create content. For this persona, I suggest leading with women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and the treatment of minorities.
Talk about the protest movement being led by women and Gen Z and the alignment in values. Discuss the and the emotional wellbeing of the Talk about the safety of Iranian refugees or activists in the host country.
The call to action: Amplify the voices of Iran. Use social networks to tell the stories of Iran and tag appropriate influencers to spread awareness further.
BOYCOTT
Businesses and investors don’t like uncertainty and turbulence. For this reason, despite evidence, they’re sticking with the Islamic regime & IRGC. They hide their shady dealings from the public.
They don’t want us or their shareholders to know how their profits and thereby, their dividends are derived. These behind the scenes machinations also involve politicians and political parties. Who else funds these re-election campaigns?
There are many jobs related to these business deals. No government wants to have job losses and companies going under because of their decisions. Therefore this reinforces the status quo. What will change the status quo?
Uncertainty and demonstrated risk resulting from bad press and media (though they’ll likely be the masters of spin with well paid PR). As you saw from the personas, there is a big opportunity to activate a consumer backlash by naming and shaming these business dealings.
Imagine if these personas through their networks and social media began to ask questions? Imagine if the general public found out who these companies do deals with? For this reason, boycotts are a very powerful way of sending a clear message to these companies.
And by extension governments that they will lose customers (votes) and money and attract negative media attentions by bringing their shady dealings into the public.
In the age of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing and reporting, we cannot allow these companies the whitewash and greenwash the crimes being committed on Iran and the people of Iran. Transparency is key.
Many of these companies are multinational with a big footprint. They sign onto and report against things like the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Global Compact etc. They must be held to account.
Please use this LIST as a starting point to begin. I’ve provided template text to use for social media posts and suggested hashtags. Together we can make a big difference and we can help save our Iran.
Women, Life, Freedom 