Windsor woman previously arrested by Iran's morality police says she wants change

While living in Iran, Elnaz Akhavandreamed of having snow in her hair.

But being forced to wear a hijab or head scarf made this small dream feel impossible.

"This is about the morality policing in Iran, they just control especially women about what they're wearing, especially the hijab and stuff," said Akhavan, who is 33 years old.

"If you are in the street and you are passing by and you are not proper, in their mind, so they arrest you."

Akhavantold CBC News that between the ages of 19 and 28, she was arrested and assaulted by Iran's so-called morality police three times over what she was wearing. Each interaction, she said, was intimidating and scary.

WATCH:Elnaz Akhavan says she's using her voice to create change for others

Elnaz Akhavan says she's using her voice to create change for others

2 years ago

Duration 1:42

The University of Windsor PhD student recalls her experience living in Iran and why she's fighting to make a difference.

Even though the so-called morality police would eventually let her go, the last time she was arrested she said they warned her that she would go to jail if they caught her again.

In January 2021, Akhavan left Iran to become a PhD student at the University of Windsor. Even though the trauma of what Akhavan experienced in Iran has often come back to haunt her, she said she feels safer. Now, shewants to use her voice to bring justice to the Iranian people.

Iran has been rocked by protests since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died after being detained by Iran's morality police this month allegedly for not wearing her hijab properly.Amini was arrested in Tehran on Sept. 13 for "inappropriate attire," and died three days later.

Following Amini's death,Akhavan said she felt "powerless."

"You want so much to do something, to change it, to stop it from happening [to] others," she said.

Watching the proteststhat continue to take place in Iran, with women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair, Akhavan said she knew that if she wasn't here in Canada she would be joining them in the street.

"Maybe I would die by now, I don't know," she said.

On Saturday, Akhavan is taking part inan event, the Human Chain, which is happening on Windsor's riverfront at12 p.m.

The event is happening in cities across the world and is about uniting people in support of a revolution in Iran. It's also about seeking justice for the 176 people who were killed on flight PS752 after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp shot down the Ukrainian commercial plane with two surface-to-air missiles.

Akhavan said that after everything she's experienced she's been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but continuing to advocate for those back in Iran makes her "feel better."

"I have an Iranian passport, I have a nationality, if somebody asks me, I will say I'm Iranian, but I don't feel like Iran is my home," Akhavan said.

"You don't even feel safe in your own home, so you don't feel like that is home."