A protest held at the University of Otago yesterday displayed a photo of the 22-year-old Iranian woman, whose death last week sparked deadly demonstrations in her homeland.
Iranian student Mitra, who declined to give her full name, organised the protest to raise awareness of the situation, which she said was not well known in New Zealand.
‘‘People in Iran are protesting against the government, how aggressive they are with people,’’ she said.
The number of people who had died protesting was not known, but she believed it was 16.
Her sister was among those who had taken to the streets in Teheran.
‘‘Yesterday she was telling me that they tried to shoot her, and it was just very close.’’
An internet shut-down now prevented her from communicating with family back home.
"I cannot call my parents, I don’t know what’s going on there and people cannot show what they are doing to people. They’re actually killing people, and the internet is gone, so we don’t know what is going on.’’
She was also upset the situation was not confronted when President Ebrahim Raisi spoke at the United Nations General Assembly this week, she said.
The protest was about women’s rights, as women were the target of restrictions denying them the choice whether or not to wear a headscarf.
They wanted the freedom to dress how they wanted.
It was Mahsa Amini’s clothing that led to her death, Mitra said.
‘‘She was killed by police because she wasn’t wearing hijab properly.
‘‘In these protests, mostly women are the leaders, they are burning their headscarves in front of the police to say that we don’t want this.’’
About 20 people took part in the university protest yesterday, mostly Iranians, she said.
Another protest would be held next Sunday, but a location had yet to be confirmed.
