English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6  September 2025-No30 According to a new report released on 2 September by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, since 13 June  more than 20,000 people have been arrested in Iran: political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, social media users, families of protest victims, foreign nationals, Afghans, members of ethnic minorities such as Baluch and Kurds, as well as followers of the Baháʼí, Christian and Jewish faiths. On 25 June, state media reported …

English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6  September 2025-No30 For the second time, Swedish humanist activist Greta Thunberg is setting sail with ships carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, to break the siege of the territory. The organisers of the voyage say: “When the world is silent, we set sail.” In this savage world of parasitic capitalists who massacre people for profit, starve them and plunge them into poverty—while propping up dictators—the sight of young humanists like Greta brings …

English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6  September 2025-No30 As of Monday 1 September, more than 800 people have been reported dead in a magnitude six earthquake in eastern Kunar province. More than 2,500 have been injured. The epicentre was in a remote mountainous region, making relief operations difficult. In this quake—which, it must be noted, was not particularly strong—the widespread poverty and weak, substandard housing led to entire villages being destroyed, while others suffered heavy damage. Given the …

English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6 September 2025-No30 In recent days, a Bosnia-Herzegovinan gymnast and influencer’s pole dance on a pole that was flying the Turkish flag provoked outrage from authorities. Turkish officials called it an “insult to the flag” and moved to arrest the performer. Why should a piece of cloth be imbued with such sanctity that an artistic performance becomes a crime? Interestingly, the performer said in her defence: “Every Turk who was present that day …

English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6 September 2025-No30 During a military parade in China, Iranian president Pezeshkian refused to shake hands with the wife of the Chinese president. He appeared accompanied by his daughter, shrouded in a chador. This man is a cardiologist. By the nature of his profession, touching or shaking hands with women should be routine. But Pezeshkian is trained in Islam, where in appearance he must avoid physical contact with unrelated women. We say ‘in …

English Journal is published on Fridays PDF-English Journal-6  September 2025-No30 Reports and images emerging from various cities, especially Tehran, show that after the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, young people are acting more freely in their clothing and leisure. If someone says, “See, even the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising could not topple the Islamic Republic,” we can answer with just one example of its profound impact: this movement has torn such a rift in the regime’s structure that no cement can …