Nazanin Boniadi Instagram – پس از مشورت با فعالان داخل ایران تصمیم گرفتم این جایزه را بپذیرم تا در راستای جنبش با شکوه زن زندگی آزادی ثمربخش باشد و آنرا به پیشگاه ملت قهرمان و شکست ناپذیر ایران تقدیم میکنم ‏The brave people of Iran are still risking their lives for their basic rights and fundamental political change. When the Sydney Peace Foundation first approached me with this honour, my initial instinct was respectful reluctance. But after consulting with dissidents in Iran, my initial reluctance turned into a sense of duty to my compatriots, to use this opportunity to center them on the world stage, and amplify our common cause of secular democracy for Iran. This award belongs to them ‏As one prominent female dissident wanted me to relay to Iranian expats around the world: “This regime told you to leave if you don’t like its oppressive laws. They persecuted you and your families into exile in an effort to humiliate you. And when you left they tried to discredit you as being out of touch with Iran and shilling for the West. What they didn’t anticipate is that, like millions of messages in bottles, your voices would carry ours across oceans. That you would echo us loudly wherever you went in the world, even generations after your parents were forced to leave… As long as this unity remains, we will prevail ‏This is what I remain committed to. As I looked out at my mother in the audience, I was filled with hope, knowing that her generation of lionesses planted the seeds that are germinating today and will undoubtedly blossom into full freedom in the future ‏I’m deeply grateful to the @sydneypeacefoundation, @sydney_uni, @amnestyaustralia, The Carla Zampatti Foundation, @cityofsydney, Lord Mayor @clovermoore, emcee @jan__fran, and all speakers and panelists, not only for this acknowledgement, but for tangibly supporting and amplifying the #WomanLifeFreedom movement with a week full of impactful, high level activism that I was honoured to engage in. The work continues. Woman, Life, Freedom lives on! LINK IN BIO for full event and acceptance speech