This morning on Lorraine, Lorraine Kelly was joined by Elika Ashoori who spoke about the current protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini. Continuing her efforts of solidarity with the largely female-led revolution, she even cut her hair live on the show.
Elika Ashoori is the daughter of the British Iranian businessman Anoosheh Ashoori, who was recently detained in Iran for almost five years. Having been released earlier this year alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh completed the London Marathon last Sunday to show solidarity with those still imprisoned in Iran.
Elika announced to Lorraine, “I have brought a pair of scissors today to show my solidarity to my sisters in Iran and this pales to the bravery that they’re showing in the streets, risking death.”
“So I’m going to cut my hair as well, just to show that we are all behind you.”
Cutting the other side of her hair, she continued, “This one is for what the European, US and UK governments need to do with their trade and deals with Iran. They need to stop and cut everything. Just like that.”
Explaining the history of the current protests in Iran, Elika said, “This [protest] started with the murder of one girl who was showing a few strands of hair and was beaten by the morality police. But it soon escalated into nationwide protests and it progressed into women asking for the removal of compulsory hijabs, which has been implemented for four decades in Iran. And from there it has taken another shape and now has become a nationwide revolution led by women.
“This is the first female-led revolution that we’ve seen in our time where the demographic of age is between 16 and 22,” she added. “People have been desensitised when they see news coming from the Middle East, they need to be engaged… What if they were your sisters and your daughters?”
To watch the interview go to itv.com/hub
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV & ITV Hub
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