Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸

Conscious music, conscious poetry, conscious merch | Semi-finalist UK Songwriting Contest | Winner Bread and Roses 🏆 | As heard on BBC Radio 6 Music

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

The highlight of my 2022 was meeting Tom Robinson @freshnet
Happy New Year everyone!
#HappyNewYear #goodbye2022 #HappyNewYear2023 Thread 1/2

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

“The world is not divided between East and West You are American, I am Iranian. We do not know each other, vet we can talk and understand one another perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much greater than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much greater than the difference between me and you. Our governments, however, are very much the same.”

- Marjane Satrapi, Iranian graphic novelist

Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born graphic novelist, illustrator, and filmmaker widely recognized for her acclaimed autobiographical graphic memoir, Persepolis.

Born in 1969 in Rasht and raised in Tehran, she came of age during the dramatic events of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the ensuing Iran-Iraq War. As a teenager, she moved to Vienna to continue her education, an experience marked by cultural adjustment, isolation, and questions of identity.

These formative years became the foundation for Persepolis, first published in 2000. The memoir chronicles her childhood in revolutionary Iran and her adolescence in Europe, offering a deeply personal perspective on political upheaval, family life, and the search for belonging. The book earned international praise and introduced many readers around the world to the realities of everyday life in Iran during a turbulent era.

Satrapi later co-directed the 2007 animated film adaptation, Persepolis, which received the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

Tomorrow I will be performing for Haringey Socialist Alliance

Come hear "Nina Simone meets Bertolt Brecht" with a hint of the Middle east

Tkts: https://t.co/HyK5iWNdyh

#iranian #MusicVibes #poetrylovers

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

Welcome to a hum
The revolution has begun
Listen,
It's a slow stirring from below
Welcome to the show.......

#nokingsnowar
#nokingsnowar

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

Welcome to a hum
The revolution has begun
Listen,
It's a slow stirring from below
Welcome to the show.......

#nokingsnowar
#nokingsnowar

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

Just say it, It was half a million ✊🏾

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through central London in what organisers are calling the largest ever demonstration against the far right in British history https://t.co/9ZJ9OJx4xp

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

Proud to have been a part of it.

No to war, no Pahlavi
Bombs will never set us free

#IranWar‌

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

We won't let them use our suffering against us
#iran #IranWar‌

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

Our co-founder @MsDefiance on why Iranians should march with us tomorrow.

IRAN SOLIDARITY BLOC
TOGETHER ALLIANCE DEMO

🚩Zone G, position 14
Park Lane
🕛 12 noon,
🗓️ Saturday 28 March

Hosted by Iranians for Palestine UK
Supported by @amnestyuk & @MENAsolidarity
#iran

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

IRAN SOLIDARITY BLOC
Together Alliance Demonstration

🚩Zone G, position 14
Park Lane. London
🕛 12 noon,
🗓️ Sat 28 Mar

Hosted by Iranians for Palestine UK
Supported by @AmnestyUK and @MENAsolidarity

Bloc location: https://t.co/2Unj6HTakt

#Iran

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

This Norouz we persist
This Norouz we resist
We find our strength on the street
Pound the ground with our feet
We march with fire, we light the flame
No war in our name

#IranWar #نوروز_۱۴۰۵

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

We are not going to let warmongers use our suffering to justify bombing of our loved ones.
See you there tomorrow!

#IranWar

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

Join Iranians for Palestine TOMORROW on the Stop Bombing Iran protest to say

Jin Jiyan Azadi
Bombs will never set us free!

🕙 11.30 am onwards
🗓️ Sat 7 March
📍 Front of demonstration, Millbank (Next to Victoria Tower Gardens)
Look for our banner

#IranWar #IranIsraelWar

[Salma Yaqoob @SalmaYaqoob]

Almost feel sorry for the haters who are trying to spin Muslims voting for a woman in a party led by a gay Jewish man is evidence of Islamist sectarianism 😂

In fact it’s evidence of genuine tolerance, rejection of superficial identity politics and ability to prioritise tackling common concerns of cost of living, protecting public services and rejecting war mongering. And the promotion of mutual respect and individual freedoms.

The coming together of people is terrifying for the ruling elites.

[The National @ScotNational]

EXCLUSIVE: The Green Party have slated the BBC after it handed Reform UK their third Question Time slot in a row the week before a crucial by-election in England

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

Yep, they bullied and harassed me too

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

This is so profoundly sad and embarrassing.

At Munich, @amanpour interviewed the son of the former Shah and pressed him (very gently imo) on the fact that his supporters were attacking anyone - including political prisoners in Iran - who didn't throw their support behind him. Amanpour called it "terrifying."

Almost to prove her point, supporters of the son of the Shah confronted Amanpour a day or so later and hurled profanities and insults at her. Accusing her of being a supporter of the Iranian theocracy simply for asking a slightly challenging question of the son of the Shah.

Despite his soft words in interviews with Western media, Pahlavi is not even trying to convince Iranians that he and his movement are democratically minded. He is only seeking their submission.

This is the tragedy of Iran today. The three political groupings that are the most organized - the security establishment in Tehran, the Mujahedin, and the Monarchists - are all profoundly undemocratic.

[Hossein Ghatib حسین قتیب @HosseinGhatib]

یکی از یافته‌های بنیادین روان‌شناسی اجتماعی این است که انسان‌ها به‌طور طبیعی تمایل دارند با آنچه «اکثریت» تلقی می‌شود همسو شوند. اقلیت بودن، مخالفت علنی با جریان غالب، و قرار گرفتن در موقعیت انزوا برای اغلب افراد ناخوشایند، پرهزینه و از نظر روانی دشوار است. میل به تعلق، میل به دیده‌شدن به‌عنوان «نرمال»، و پرهیز از طرد اجتماعی، سازوکاری عمیق در رفتار فردی و جمعی انسان‌هاست.

آنچه در سال‌های اخیر، به‌ویژه در میان بخش‌هایی از دیاسپورای ایرانی رخ داده، دقیقاً بازی با همین سازوکار است: ایجاد تدریجی این احساس که مخالفت با حمله نظامی به ایران، رد مداخله خارجی، تأکید بر حق تعیین سرنوشت مردم ایران، و نقد بازگشت به سلطنت استبدادی، مواضعی «اقلیتی»، «غیرنرمال» و حتی «غیراخلاقی» هستند.

این وضعیت ناگهانی و تصادفی شکل نگرفت. آنچه ما با آن مواجهیم، نتیجه یک فرآیند طولانی «ساخت زبان» است. فرآیندی که می‌توان رد آن را دست‌کم از حوالی ۱۳۹۶ دنبال کرد. در این زبان تازه، یک استعاره محوری به‌تدریج تثبیت شد: این‌که «ایران سرزمینی اشغال‌شده است». انقلاب ۵۷ نه به‌مثابه یک تحول تاریخی پیچیده، بلکه به‌عنوان «اشغال» بازنمایی شد. در ادامه، دوران پهلوی به‌صورت نوستالژیک بازسازی گردید، نه صرفاً به‌عنوان یک دوره تاریخی، بلکه به‌عنوان وضعیت مطلوب ازدست‌رفته‌ای که بازگشت به آن، مسیر نجات معرفی شد.

این زبان ویژگی‌های گفتمانی مشخصی دارد: دوگانه‌سازی‌های ساده‌ساز خوب و بد، بالا و پایین، متمدن و عقب‌مانده، نور و تاریکی. نظام ارزش‌گذاری شدید در آن تعبیه شده و مفاهیم نه توصیف، بلکه داوری می‌شوند. زبان، حامل قضاوت اخلاقی است.

گسترش این زبان از دو مسیر اصلی صورت گرفت. نخست، رسانه‌های ماهواره‌ای که در دهه‌های گذشته نقش جدی در شکل‌دادن به افق فکری بخشی از دیاسپورا داشته‌اند. دوم، شبکه‌های اجتماعی که با انفجار خود در ده سال اخیر، امکان بازتولید تعاملی، شبکه‌ای و الگوریتمی این زبان را فراهم کردند. در این فضا، ارتش‌های رباتی، شبکه‌های سازمان‌یافته، تولید سیستماتیک محتوا و تکرار مداوم کلیدواژه‌ها، به‌تدریج این گفتمان را از «یک صدا» به «فضای غالب» تبدیل کردند.

نتیجه این فرآیند آن بود که بسیاری از افراد، نه الزاماً از سر اقناع نظری، بلکه به این دلیل ساده که نمی‌خواستند در موقعیت اقلیت فکری قرار گیرند، شروع به استفاده از همین زبان کردند. واژگان، چارچوب‌ها و داوری‌هایی به کار گرفته شد که پیش‌تر عادی نبودند. چیزهایی «نرمال» شد که تا چند سال قبل حتی شرم‌آور یا حاشیه‌ای تلقی می‌شد.

بدآمدن از هویت ملی، تحقیر تیم ملی، نفرت از نیروهای نظامی کشور، و حتی درخواست مداخله بیگانه، نه‌تنها عادی، بلکه به‌تدریج «فضیلت‌مند» بازنمایی شد. شاید مهم‌ترین تحول همین‌جاست: این مواضع صرفاً سیاسی نشدند، بلکه اخلاقی شدند. مخالفت با آن‌ها نه اختلاف نظر، بلکه نشانه «بی‌اخلاقی»، «نادانی» یا «همدستی» معرفی شد.

در این نقطه، زبان دیگر فقط ابزار بیان نبود؛ ابزار انضباط بود. ابزاری برای مرزبندی، طرد، و ساختن احساس اقلیت بودن در میان کسانی که هنوز معتقدند آینده ایران نه از مسیر بمب و تحریم و مداخله، بلکه تنها از مسیر جامعه ایران می‌گذرد.

[. @jdpoc]

This ...

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

At least some people on the left are consistent in their stand against oppression and brutality.
These are the ones Sa'adi would clarify as human
#Iran #IranRevolution2026 #IranMassacre #IranProtests #IranianRevolution2026 #IranRevolution

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

1) Stand with Iranians fighting for democracy and freedom against a theocratic tyranny.

2) Oppose any Western intervention in Iran.

3) Oppose one dictatorship being replaced by another.

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

مرگ بر ستمگر
چه شاه باشه چه رهبر
Down with the oppressor
Whether it is the Shah or the (Supreme) Leader

#DigitalBlackoutIran #IranRevolution #IranianRevolution2026

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Prof Maziyar Ghiabi tells @MattBarbet that he thinks it would be "completely unfeasible" for exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi to be installed as shah.

He says calls for this are coming mostly from the "echo chamber of social media".

Latest ➡️ https://t.co/WUAL8dcTjB

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

Our statement on protests in Iran:

Iranians for Palestine UK stand with the Iranian people in their current struggle against the oppressive government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). Nearly 100 million ordinary Iranians are subject to (Thread 1/5)

#IranProtests

[Iranians For Palestine UK @Iranians4PalUK]

Iranians for Palestine UK stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people against the illegal attack by the USA on their land and their sovereignty.
(Thread 1/4)
#Venezuela #NicolasMaduro #Iran

[Ms Defiance (Somaye) 🧡🇵🇸 @MsDefiance]

😂😂😂

[Zara Hussain @zarahussain999]

BREAKING NEWS

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been mass-reported by Muslims to Dubai police for blasphemy.

Will they arrest him?

🤷🏽‍♀️