"When you have nothing to lose, you have everything to gain". For the Iranian women and men who are taking to the streets in almost every major city in Iran, these words are their battle cry. For 47 years, the repressive, horrific Islamic Regime has ruled Iran with an iron fist, controlling and oppressing the citizens of that country -- but enough is enough. With nothing to lose, they have taken to the streets in the thousands, knowing the time is right for change. Are you aware of the mass protests in Iran right now?

The protests are the biggest since the 2022 protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, an innocent young Kurdish woman who was taken into custody for violating the strict dress code. Those protests lasted several months, but this time it just feels different. These protests may have been triggered by the Islamic Republic's economic mismanagement, a plummeting currency, high inflation, a water crisis and the struggle many Iranians face to make ends meet. But it is about more than that. It's about basic human rights. It seems that a majority are increasingly fed up with the Islamic Republic and want something better. Generation Z, prominent in the protests, see this as a struggle for their future. They may be less concerned about what or who replaces the current regime, so long as it is different and offers hope. Are you aware that the protests are not really about the economy (as some sources insist)?

Iran has cut off the country's internet, and phone lines, in an attempt, as they say, "to quell escalating anti-government protests". This is just code for what is happening right now, as hundreds of protesters are killed, their bodies being held in storage facilities (and not releasing the bodies to their grieving families for burial), while hundreds more are beaten and jailed. Images and information are being leaked, despite the internet being cut off. Elsewhere around the world, fellow Iranians and allies are taking to the streets of their cities, in solidarity with the brave Iranians who are risking their lives for a chance at freedom and basic human rights. Again, they have nothing to lose. My favorite quote from a young Iranian woman who is only 18 and out protesting for a freedom she has never experienced is this "They execute, and arrest us anyway. So people now think, if they continue to kill us when we are not even on the streets in protest, why the f*ck are we waiting for the right moment?" Do you agree that these women and men are brave?