Jakarta: Indonesian activists claim they are acting in the best interest of humanity, joining a chorus of international solidarity with Iranian women who have led the largest anti-government protests in Iran since 2009.

Following the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was detained by Iran's ethics police for failing to cover her hair properly, protests and public outrage have grown in Iran since mid-September . 80 cities.

Iranian women have been at the forefront of protests for weeks, refusing to wear head scarves that are legally required for them and cutting their hair in acts of defiance, which has sparked a global outpouring of support for the protest has done.

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Earlier this month, several Indonesian activists organized a small demonstration in front of the Iranian embassy in Jakarta, where they carried signs reading "Solidarity to Mahsa Amini" and symbolically placed flowers at the gate.

We would like to draw attention to the fact that what happened in Iran is a global issue, affecting every country and requires solidarity in the name of humanity. One of the organizers of the solidarity protest, Jakarta-based women's rights activist Ririn Sefsani, spoke to Arab News.

She continued, "There must be international action to end the violence in Iran.

Even though only a small number of people were involved in our first action, we felt we were already making a difference, and I hope we encourage others to follow our lead.

Later this month, Cefsani announced that she was planning another protest in support of Iranian women. Authorities in Iran have reportedly killed dozens and detained prominent activists and journalists as they intensified their crackdown on the protests. At least 185 people, including 19 children, have died, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norwegian organisation.

Amnesty International claimed that Iranian security forces were to blame for the deaths and injuries suffered across Iran as a result of the use of "live ammunition, metal shrapnel and tear gas against the protesters".

Some activists claimed there were some parallels to what is happening in Indonesia, where girls and women have long been subjected to "Islamic" dress codes in many areas of the country. The country with the largest Muslim population is not an Islamic state and formally recognizes six different religions.

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According to a 2022 report by Human Rights Watch, most provinces in Indonesia enforce "discriminatory and degrading dress codes on women and girls".

As Jakarta Feminist's program director told Arab News, "It is also important for us to see that this is really not too far from our reality in Indonesia." But despite the fact that there is no parallel to what is happening in Indonesia, I believe it is important that we still express solidarity because of the intersection.

According to Restuviani, the international community must "make some kind of accountability" for those responsible for the violence in Iran. Although action is expected from multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, he continued, "they choose not to."

Acts of solidarity "must be done", according to feminist Damaira Pakpahan, who helped organize the Jakarta protest, for women everywhere as well as for women in Iran.

According to Pakpahan, “Indonesian women are part of the global community of women, so there should be global solidarity on issues that oppress and discriminate against women. This is an important issue when it comes to women’s physical autonomy.

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"It is an essential component of the global movement of solidarity. It is a call to action for all of humanity; we cannot remain silent.