Recently I have been reminded of all of the innocent people in the world that are wrongly imprisoned. I’m struck by the fact that complete strangers like me can seriously make a difference to victims we have never met, simply by sharing information about their story, signing a petition or joining a campaign to demand their freedom.
Today we are bombarded by such campaigns and stories. The marketplace is flooded by people raising funds or asking for your participation to support human rights, climate change, animal rights etc. Not long ago I had only just shared information about one such story on Facebook, encouraging my friends to participate, and another horrific story appeared in my newsfeed about yet another unfair example of human rights abuse.
There is so much work to be done and I hope if you are reading this, you won’t click on to another page until you give your support to the following two women. If we don’t do anything nothing will change. Your small action and a few minutes of your time can make a BIG, BIG difference.
Atena Farghadani, a 20-year old painter and activist has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison because her peaceful art was considered to be critical of the Iranian regime. In June this year she was found guilty and has since been interrogated, beaten and kept in solitary confinement. The pain and unfairness led her to go on a hunger strike; she’s even suffered a heart attack.
Click here to sign Amnesty International’s petition to free this innocent woman.
Shireen Issawi is a Palestinian human rights lawyer, and activist who has been fighting for the rights and freedom of numerous Palestinian government officials during her career. Now, the Israeli government has put her in prison where she has been for over a year. Shireen is innocent and we need to demand her release. The video below contains more information about this story. To help, please participate in this photo campaign that raises awareness of this story and will be used to put pressure on US officials to demand her release.
Click here to go to the Facebook page about the campaign.
Click here for a You Tube video showing Shireen and her work as an activist and lawyer, and her story which ends up with her in prison.
If we don’t act, nothing will change. Please do what I have done and participate, share and spread the world to free these women.
Check out Harpreet Kaur’s Inspirational Woman post here
