Ms. Farahani is an Iranian-born actress.

This personal reflection is part of a series called Turning Points, in which writers explore what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead. You can read more by visiting the Turning Points series page.

Turning Point: In September, Mahsa Amini, 22, died while in the custody of the Iranian morality police in Tehran after she was arrested and accused of violating strict dress code laws requiring that women wear head scarves. Her death sparked massive protests across Iran as well as solidarity demonstrations around the world.

Dear Feminists of the World,

I am an Iranian actress and artist. I have lived in exile since 2008 when I starred in Ridley Scott’s movie “Body of Lies” and the Iranian authorities accused me of working with the Central Intelligence Agency.

I am writing on behalf of the brave young women and men rising up against oppression and inequality in Iran. As an exile, I have no authority to represent this courageous uprising. I’m simply trying to echo the feelings of my sisters and brothers to help the entire world understand what is happening. I want to translate the foreign language — not only its words, but its meaning.

My experience growing up in Iran until I was 25, and living in exile for the last 14 years, has enabled me to be a form of bridge between two very different cultures that have more in common than many in the West may think. This is especially true for Generation Z, the group of young people born between 1997 and 2012 who are the driving force behind the current revolution.

Let me start by saying I understand that it took many in the West a long time to notice the historic revolution happening in my country now. My home, Iran, is in one of the world’s most difficult-to-understand regions. Right and wrong are often blurred, and there is great suffering among my people. While Iran is the cradle of modern humanity in many ways, it is also the most complex political, cultural, social and religious fabric imaginable, where contradictions run deep between classes, age groups and even within families.

The contradictions and confusions of Middle Eastern politics and cultures are merely an exaggerated reflection of the contradictions and confusions that dominate the discussions of many important current global issues. Instead of easily understandable right and wrong, black and white, the world seems to be an endless spectrum of shades of gray — or a rainbow of colors, as I prefer to frame it.

So why is this uprising different? This time, there are no shades of gray. What Iran’s Generation Z wants is very simple: Freedom. Freedom of choice. Freedom for Iranian women to behave, dress, act, walk and talk as equals to Iranian men. There is no ideology involved, no formal political movement from the right or left. The simplicity of the demand for freedom is what makes it so powerful. There are no two perspectives. There is no complex argument. There is no room for confusion.

Read more on the original:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/special-series/iran-revolution-golshifteh-farahani.html