Iranian-born activist Nazanin Boniadi has spoken about the hope she feels from courageous protesters in Iran, as she was awarded the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize at a ceremony at Sydney Town Hall on Thursday.
Boniadi received the award for her advocacy in Iran’s #WomanLifeFreedom movement.
Boniadi has dedicated her powerful platform to promoting the women-led movement, which erupted following the death of 21 year-old Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police. Today, Iranian people continue to be jailed and killed for opposing authoritarian rule in the country.
“Every time I see a brave protester continue to flout the compulsory hijab, every time they’re freed from prison, every time I see someone saved from execution, every time I see the people on the ground who are risking everything to oppose this regime, I think to myself, who am I not to have hope? Because they do,” Boniadi said.
Known on the screen for her appearances in the TV series How I Met Your Mother and the Hollywood action thriller movie Hotel Mumbai, Boniadi has advocated at the highest levels to the US and UK governments, at the United Nations and at the World Economic Forum in opposition to what she calls the ‘gender apartheid’ Iranian regime.
Stating why she was chosen for the honour, the Sydney Peace Prize jury praised Boniadi’s advocacy efforts “for drawing attention to human rights violations, for lending a powerful voice to support Iranian women and girls and their #WomanLifeFreedom movement, and for using a high-profile platform to promote freedom and justice in Iran”.
At the award ceremony, Boniadi was joined by a range of fellow leaders and advocates, including Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Shookoofeh Azar, Gelarah Pour, Sam Klintworth, Clover Moore and Kween G Kibone.
Boniadi also addressed Cabramatta High School on Thursday. The school boasts one of the most diverse schools in Australia with many students from families that have fled conflict in their homelands.
Speaking to SBS News, Boniadi said the students gave her hope and reminded her of the famous quote “Darkness doesn’t drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate doesn’t drive out hate, only love can do that’.
“These children, these young people, this generation personifies that and I’m just so honoured to be in their presence. They not only are the future, they are today’s leaders,” she said.
Amidst the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Hamas’ attack on Israelis, Boniadi has also made recent comments on how this affects support for Iran, reminding people not to let Hamas’ attack divert attention from Iranian oppression.
She also urged the Australian public to beware of what information is being amplified online and to be very careful with what they share in regards to current events.
“We should be able to hold two truths in our minds at the same time. One, Hamas is absolutely a terrorist organisation and what happened to innocent Israeli people is horrendous. Two, that innocent Palestinian civilians deserve to be treated with dignity and to have peace,” she said.