As wars rage across the globe and as the last few weeks in particular have been defined by atrocities, bigotry, and hatred, peaceful voices must be amplified now more than ever. On October 6, Iranian journalist and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her struggle "against the oppression of women in Iran and in favor of human rights and freedom for all."

Today, Narges – who has been held captive in Iran's infamous Evin Prison since November 2021 – is in greater danger than she has ever been. Arrested thirteen times and sentenced five times to a total of thirty-one years' imprisonment and 154 lashes in patently unfair trials, Narges Mohammadi has established herself as a figure of resistance to Iran's theocratic regime and as a standard-bearer of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran. She has always fought against the death penalty and torture, and in favor of gender equality.

Just as the Chinese poet and dissident Liu Xiaobo died in captivity in 2017, we now risk seeing yet another Nobel Peace Prize laureate perish in prison for lack of proper care. For the third time in twenty days, prison officials, acting on orders from Iran's highest authorities, have refused to transfer Narges Mohammadi to a hospital for urgent cardiological care.

A matter of life and death for Narges Mohammadi

On November 6, Narges Mohammadi went on a hunger strike to protest the denial of healthcare to inmates who are forced to choose between the Islamic Republic's mandatory hijab and death. In solidarity, seven of her fellow inmates have followed suit. A few weeks earlier, Narges Mohammadi was assaulted by guards in the prison yard for exposing their torture and mistreatment of her fellow inmates.

While these punishments have been meted out by Narges' captors, the activist herself has declared that she will never again don the mandatory hijab. Narges made this declaration to honor the memory of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was killed for a supposedly poorly-worn hijab at the age of 21, as well as that of Armita Garavand, who died on October 28 – the day of Narges' pledge – at the age of just 16. Narges' promise also honors all the women now fighting against the oppression encapsulated by the mandatory hijab.

Do we want to witness yet another state-sponsored murder carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran – which, to add insult to injury, has just chaired the United Nations' Social Forum on Human Rights? Every hour that passes is now a matter of life and death for Narges, and we hold the Iranian authorities responsible for anything that may happen from this day forward.

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