The protests in Iran cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on girls’ and women’s autonomy, in all aspects of public life including education. Iranian girls, like girls everywhere, demand a life with dignity. The people of Iran have long warned about this repression, at great personal risk, and their voices have been silenced for decades. These restrictions exist within a wider system of gendered control shaped by segregation, surveillance, and punishment — one that limits freedom, choice, and safety far beyond the classroom. They demand their voices be heard and the right to determine their political future. That future must be driven by the Iranian people, and include the leadership of Iranian women and girls — not external forces or oppressive regimes. I stand with the people and girls of Iran in their call for freedom and dignity. They deserve to determine their own future.