Survivors of the regime like me are reliving our nightmares as brave Iranians fight for their freedom. They say they have nothing to lose but their chains

It has been more than 40 years since I was imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against human rights abuses and state executions, and for defending women’s rights. I spent eight years behind bars in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. I was tortured. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran – and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. In 2022, it was women who led the Woman, Life, Freedom movement after the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the country’s “morality police”, and it revolutionised my country. Today, women wear what they want, go out in public with their boyfriends – even live with them – without fear of being arrested. Women earned these rights with their lives. In late December 2025, the spark was once again lit – this time in an old bazaar in Tehran .

Nasrin Parvaz is a women’s rights activist and torture survivor from Iran. Her books include A Prison Memoir: One Woman’s Struggle in Iran, and the novel The Secret Letters from X to A

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

Survivors of the regime like me are reliving our nightmares as brave Iranians fight for their freedom. They say they have nothing to lose but their chains

It has been more than 40 years since I was imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against human rights abuses and state executions, and for defending women’s rights. I spent eight years behind bars in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. I was tortured. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran – and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. In 2022, it was women who led the Woman, Life, Freedom movement after the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the country’s “morality police”, and it revolutionised my country. Today, women wear what they want, go out in public with their boyfriends – even live with them – without fear of being arrested. Women earned these rights with their lives. In late December 2025, the spark was once again lit – this time in an old bazaar in Tehran .

Nasrin Parvaz is a women’s rights activist and torture survivor from Iran. Her books include A Prison Memoir: One Woman’s Struggle in Iran, and the novel The Secret Letters from X to A

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

Survivors of the regime like me are reliving our nightmares as brave Iranians fight for their freedom. They say they have nothing to lose but their chains

It has been more than 40 years since I was imprisoned in Iran for speaking out against human rights abuses and state executions, and for defending women’s rights. I spent eight years behind bars in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. I was tortured. I remember it as if it happened yesterday.

Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran – and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. In 2022, it was women who led the Woman, Life, Freedom movement after the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the country’s “morality police”, and it revolutionised my country. Today, women wear what they want, go out in public with their boyfriends – even live with them – without fear of being arrested. Women earned these rights with their lives. In late December 2025, the spark was once again lit – this time in an old bazaar in Tehran .

Nasrin Parvaz is a women’s rights activist and torture survivor from Iran. Her books include A Prison Memoir: One Woman’s Struggle in Iran, and the novel The Secret Letters from X to A

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

David Joss Buckley recalls his time in rep with the actor, while Nicholas Woodeson and Harriet Monkhouse reflect on their memories, both real and imagined

The tenth anniversary of Alan Rickman’s death stirred a memory of when we were both jobbing actors in rep, performing in a schools’ matinee ( ‘I fell in love with him on the spot’: Alan Rickman remembered, 10 years after his death, 14 January ).

The play was Gunslinger by Richard Crane, written in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial, and Alan had been cast as Sitting Bull. Dressed in full Native American attire, complete with sumptuously feathered headdress, his was the concluding speech of the play. It was a moving and sombre piece delivered beautifully in that rich and sonorous voice.

David Joss Buckley recalls his time in rep with the actor, while Nicholas Woodeson and Harriet Monkhouse reflect on their memories, both real and imagined

The tenth anniversary of Alan Rickman’s death stirred a memory of when we were both jobbing actors in rep, performing in a schools’ matinee ( ‘I fell in love with him on the spot’: Alan Rickman remembered, 10 years after his death, 14 January ).

The play was Gunslinger by Richard Crane, written in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial, and Alan had been cast as Sitting Bull. Dressed in full Native American attire, complete with sumptuously feathered headdress, his was the concluding speech of the play. It was a moving and sombre piece delivered beautifully in that rich and sonorous voice.

David Joss Buckley recalls his time in rep with the actor, while Nicholas Woodeson and Harriet Monkhouse reflect on their memories, both real and imagined

The tenth anniversary of Alan Rickman’s death stirred a memory of when we were both jobbing actors in rep, performing in a schools’ matinee ( ‘I fell in love with him on the spot’: Alan Rickman remembered, 10 years after his death, 14 January ).

The play was Gunslinger by Richard Crane, written in 1976 to celebrate the US bicentennial, and Alan had been cast as Sitting Bull. Dressed in full Native American attire, complete with sumptuously feathered headdress, his was the concluding speech of the play. It was a moving and sombre piece delivered beautifully in that rich and sonorous voice.

The Cambridge college remains committed to widening participation, says its master, Mary Hockaday

As the master of Trinity Hall, I am sorry for the distress and anger caused by some of the words used in the internal memo referred to in your article ( Cambridge college to target elite private schools for student recruitment, 7 January ). It has been the cause for much reflection in the college.

But I must set the record straight. Trinity Hall has not changed its admissions policy nor its commitment to widening participation. We do not confuse opportunity with ability ( Letters, 12 January ) and our admissions team is skilled at assessing academic potential in the context of background and schooling. We know from experience that our top-performing students come from every part of the country, every school type and every background.

The Cambridge college remains committed to widening participation, says its master, Mary Hockaday

As the master of Trinity Hall, I am sorry for the distress and anger caused by some of the words used in the internal memo referred to in your article ( Cambridge college to target elite private schools for student recruitment, 7 January ). It has been the cause for much reflection in the college.

But I must set the record straight. Trinity Hall has not changed its admissions policy nor its commitment to widening participation. We do not confuse opportunity with ability ( Letters, 12 January ) and our admissions team is skilled at assessing academic potential in the context of background and schooling. We know from experience that our top-performing students come from every part of the country, every school type and every background.

The Cambridge college remains committed to widening participation, says its master, Mary Hockaday

As the master of Trinity Hall, I am sorry for the distress and anger caused by some of the words used in the internal memo referred to in your article ( Cambridge college to target elite private schools for student recruitment, 7 January ). It has been the cause for much reflection in the college.

But I must set the record straight. Trinity Hall has not changed its admissions policy nor its commitment to widening participation. We do not confuse opportunity with ability ( Letters, 12 January ) and our admissions team is skilled at assessing academic potential in the context of background and schooling. We know from experience that our top-performing students come from every part of the country, every school type and every background.