As the International Association of Art, we are extremely sorry to witness the unfortunate incidents especially concerning the fate of women in Iran and Afghanistan.
Every human being has unquestionable equal rights, to exist, having access to healthcare, to education, to mobility around the globe and to benefit from the welfare of this world.
Unfortunately, the tragic events that followed the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, have been disastrous and hundreds of Iranian citizens died in the clashes or somewhere hang by the government or disappeared.
Iranian women as well as freedom seeking citizens to this day continue to pursue their civil and democratic rights as they protest with all their means, while continuing to risk their lives.
The situation of the women in Afghanistan is unfortunately not better. They have also been denied most of their civil and democratic rights under the Taliban regime for long years. The violence and murders executed by the regime in Afghanistan is not tolerable, forgivable, or understandable. No government has the right to treat women or their freedom seeking citizens in this way.
We also know that the artists and writers in those counties are under oppression, threat and they are victims of undemocratic, unsecular, and careless regimes that don’t have the due respect for their citizens. This issue has nothing to do with the interior affairs of another country. It has to do with basic democratic human rights. We sympathize our Iranian and Afghani artist friends, and we feel all the burden and pain that is stuck in their chest.
We immediately urge the world’s public conscience to react against this unjust and immoral situation. We hope that all international organizations as well as countries and NGOs will continue to remain in solidarity and strongly react against these issues.
We are also in deep sorrow to still see the tragic war going on in Ukraine under Russian invasion. All the heartbreaking and tragic news and images coming from Ukraine reminds us of the atrocities of World War II and it’s not possible to accept such a 3rd millennium for our world that has supposedly achieved so many progresses in all scientific, technological, and industrial fields.
No children, no women, no elderly, no artists, no writers, no journalists, no citizens of this world deserve such a 21st century. With all our solidarity, love and respect to all countries citizens that have to pay such inacceptable and shameful prices with all the ongoing war and oppression atrocities, we present this declaration to all the NGOs, artist and writer associations, as well as all legal national and international institutions of this world.
Let’s not forget that any of us could have been in those shoes while fighting for our survival. Nevertheless, we don’t need to experience those tragedies to have empathy with all the victims, we have been mentioning.
Bedri Baykam
President International Association of Art – Official Partner of UNESCO
