STRASBOURG: The European Union on Thursday awarded its top rights honour, the Sakharov Prize, to Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in Iranian custody a year ago, and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement her death triggered.

“The brutal murder of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini marked a turning point.

It has triggered a women-led movement that is making history,“ European Parliament speaker Roberta Metsola said, using Amini’s Kurdish first name as she announced the award.

Metsola said the movement’s three-word slogan was “a rallying cry for all those standing up for equality, for dignity, and for freedom in Iran”.

The Sakharov Prize, which comes with a 50,000-euro ($53,000) endowment, will be handed over in a European Parliament ceremony on December 13.

The EU prize announcement comes two weeks after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to an imprisoned Iranian rights campaigner, Narges Mohammadi.

This week, they jailed Amini’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, for one year for “propaganda” after he spoke to media about her case. Many Iranian women continue to defy the government’s clothing edict by taking off their headscarves in public.

The “Woman, Life, Freedom” campaign continues in cities around the world, with frequent demonstrations in which Amini’s photo is held aloft.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023