PARIS, France - Iranian-born Hollywood actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi said more had to be done to protect the rights of women in Iran as security forces crackdown on protests sparked by the death of Masha Amini in police custody.
Amini, 22, died in September after being arrested by morality for 'unsuitable attire', sparking protests that have spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran's leadership since 2019.
Security forces have been leading a crackdown on the protests, with thousands arrested, hundreds injured, and over 100 killed, according to rights groups.
Speaking to Reuters in Los Angeles, the Amnesty International ambassador said Amini's death has struck a chord internationally and she called on world leaders to do more to hold Iranian authorities accountable.
'I think the death or the killing of Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran has struck at the core of everything we feel about our rights being taken away from us, how fragile our freedoms can be', said Boniadi, 43.
'So it's hit a chord...in the global zeitgeist of people feeling like they can relate to what it feels like to have your rights taken from you. And particularly, I think, women's rights'.
The star of Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power', who left Tehran with her family when she was just 20 days, has been a prominent voice in the anti-regime campaign since Amini's death.
On Saturday, Boniadi led a protest in Lod Angeles against the Iranian government, with organisers saying 20,000 people turned up to show their support. There have been similar protests across Europe and in Canada, in solidarity with the women making a stand in Tehran and everywhere in Iran.
'Here you have these women who are on the front lines, and they are likely to get beaten at the very least, if not killed and imprisoned. And yet they're doing it anyway', said Boniadi, visibly emotional.
'They're fighting with all they have. The problem is that we need to stand by them. Every country, and every member state of the U.N. needs to actively work toward creating this international mechanism for accountability on Iran'.
