A SPEECH BY AYISHA SIDDIQA from COP27 in Egypt
by Ayisha Siddiqa
Read this in the FEMINIST ZINE
“I am a land and water protector but I am also a woman.
And by default I am a woman and human rights defender.
It would be remiss if I traveled all the way here, stood in this space, so far removed from the reality of my sisters and brothers in Iran and pretended that the climate crisis is separate than their fight for freedom.
As long as my tongue works, as long as my heart beats, my duty is to my community.
And my community is the teenage girls on the other side of the middle east who will bring down a dictator. My community is the woman who refuses to give up the phrase, ‘My body. My choice.’ Even after the mullahs threaten to break their legs.
My community is the woman here and the voices who dare to remind you that the throne of power the world sees leaders sit on is as insignificant as dust. Women, Life, Freedom. Zain, Zindagi, Aazadi
I have one last poem I would like to read before I leave. It’s called ‘Dear Sister.’
When the Adnan introduces the men hiding behind their beards. Aazadi.
In the name of Mahsa, Hadiz, Nica. Aazadi.
As the old funeral returns. Aazadi.
When the bricks and acid come hurling your way. Aazadi.
And even then, if they don’t understand you in your silence. Aazadi.
To the bullets on behalf of the drenched school uniform. Aazadi.
To the life you nurture in the truth of earth mother. Aazadi.
May our daughters never need to fight again for this. Aazadi.
In Farsi, Baloj, Kurdish, Pasto, Dari, Urdu–Azadi. Azadi. Azadi.
Zain, Zindagi, Aazadi.”
—A Speech by Ayisha Siddiqa from COP27 in Egypt
Watch the speech here
The situation in Iran exasperated while the COP27 continued, but it was not lost on us. From the walls of this conference to the streets of Iran, and all over the world, climate Justice is women’s rights. Zain, Zindagi, Aazadi.
At official UN designated events you are not allowed to call out a country or name a cooperation when protesting. This year we were unable to gather in groups outside of the conference center and people in Egypt were arrested for carrying banners related to climate. Protests were allowed designated corners of the UN space so far from the rooms where decisions were made.
While world leaders gathered to talk about the future of humanity, human rights were so easily ignored in Egypt while people were being slaughtered in Iran- the conference at times felt like a cruel joke.
The women's lead movement in Iran is related to every movement of Justice. It is personal because the same religious restrictions, patriarchy run Rampid in Pakistan. It is not separate from the fight for a livable planet. 1500 people have been murdered in Iran for standing up for their right to their own bodies.
Egypt may have delivered the African COP on Loss and Damage, but it actively stifled any form of dissent. A country that has 60,000 political prisoners is not an example of climate Justice.
Words by Ayisha Siddqa
@ayisha_sidd