It is heartbreaking to watch the news from Iran these days and once again witness the violation of basic human rights and the widespread repression of protesters by the Iranian government. The protests that began in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s morality police simply for not wearing a proper “Hijab” according to the government.

People all around the world deserve to live freely and have equal rights in all matters regardless of their gender, including the right to choose their clothing, and no power or government shall take away this right. Unfortunately, Iranian women's non-violent protest against the mandatory “Hijab” law, over the last few decades, has always been responded by violent and systematic repression by the government. This is in addition to that government’s long history of violating basic human rights and committing serious crimes such as killing of many innocent people, including three of our members, in the PS752 plane crash in 2020, just to name one.

The Iranian Ontario Dental Association (IODA) strongly condemns the brutal repression of Iranian women and Iranian people by their government. IODA calls on the Canadian human rights organizations and the Canadian government to express solidarity with the people of Iran, particularly Iranian women, and use their power and resources to assist them, achieve their basic rights as human beings.