Local Persian-Canadian says latest Trudeau government sanctions against Iranian regime don’t go far enough

Photo: Contributed

Mehrsa Maali, Kelowna realtor and art historian, will be giving a lecture at the Kelowna Art Gallery on Saturday April 1 about the "Woman Life Freedom" movement behind ongoing protests in Iran.

The Trudeau government imposed new sanctions aimed at the Iranian regime this week, but a member of Kelowna’s Persian-Canadian community says the measures don’t go far enough.

The new sanctions apply to eight people, as well as a company that creates armoured vehicles and a cybersecurity training institute.

The Tehran commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of Iran's military known as the IRGC, is on the list, as are officials involved in using drones and ballistic missiles in regions of Iran populated by minority groups.

“Even though Iranian-born Canadians and Canadians of Iranian descent are being threatened and intimidated by IRGC agencies within Canada’s borders, the Liberals still haven’t acted on our most basic demand–to list IRGC as a terrorist organization and secure the Canadian Immigration and Visa system to ensure Iran cannot abuse Iranian-Canadians,” says local realtor and art historian Mehrsa Maali.

Maali will be giving a lecture at the Kelowna Art Gallery on Saturday, April 1 to bring attention to the “Woman Life Freedom” movement in Iran, which she calls the first woman-led revolution in the history of the world.

She is one of the sponsors of the exhibition We Are Countless, which features works by Iranian-Canadian women Reyhan Yazdani and Nasim Pirhadi.

“My lecture is an opportunity to educate people about the centuries-long struggle for the equality of women through the lens of art,” explains Maali. “There can be no equality of women in Iran with the oppression and killing of women and girls who simply want the most basic human rights.”

The unprecedented popular uprising began just six months ago. It was sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young woman arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards.

According to Amnesty International, Iran’s intelligence and security forces have committed, "horrific acts of torture, including beatings, floggings, electric shocks, rape and other sexual violence against child protesters as young as 12 to quell their involvement in nationwide protests.”

The United Nations estimates at least 527 people, including 71 children, have been killed, and hundreds of protesters severely injured.

During her multi-media presentation, Maali will examine the complex relationship between gender, art, and politics throughout history, reflecting upon the diverse ways in which gender has been represented and interpreted through artistic expression.

Her lecture will be from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

We Are Countless is free for the public to view until April 16, 2023.

-with files from The Canadian Press