Susanna

Iranian-born Canadian activist Parishad Kavyani, who spent more than two years marching in support of Palestine, has publicly broken with the movement, accusing former allies of hypocrisy, discrimination and selectively defending human rights. Kavyani said she had experienced more homophobia, racism and sexism from left-wing activists over the past nine months than ever before. Kavyani, who grew up under Iran's Islamic Republic before moving to Canada at 14, criticized pro-Palestine activists for advocating women's rights while remaining silent about Iranian women fighting against compulsory hijab laws and other restrictions imposed by Tehran. She also accused some activists of defending the Iranian regime and sharing material supportive of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Kavyani said Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was a turning point, explaining that she could not support the killing, rape, torture or hostage-taking of civilians simply because they were Israeli. She argued that human rights should apply equally to everyone, regardless of nationality or political beliefs, and accused parts of the movement of prioritizing ideology over protecting innocent people.