***Update - March 16, 2022***

We celebrate the incredible news of the release and reinstated freedom of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. 

We would also like to thank all our 1,173 fasters for taking on this commitment to support the hunger strike initiated by Nazanin’s husband Richard Ratcliffe, to keep up the pressure on the UK government, keep Nazanin’s name in the public eye and show her just how much support she has from the sisterhood.

While we are thrilled at today’s news, we share our regret that Nazanin and her family, and in particular her daughter Gabriella, has endured over six years of separation. There are no words or possible restitution for such loss.

We can only hope that the government can reflect on this appalling case in which they failed to halt the ongoing abuse and violation of the human rights of a British woman.

As we rejoice in Nazanin’s return, and on behalf of the FiLiA Team and all the women who joined together for our Solidarity Action to #FreeNazanin, we welcome Nazanin home to the UK and wish Nazanin, Richard, and Gabriella a wonderful future together at last. 

To support the #FreeNazanin campaign and inspired by Margaret Owen’s recent activism, FiLiA is organising the continuation of Richard Ratcliffe’s hunger strike in the form of a fasting relay.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 37-year-old charity worker and British citizen holding dual Iranian nationality, was on holiday visiting her family in Iran when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. She has been held in Tehran for more than five-and-a-half years on bogus accusations of spying. Successive Conservative foreign secretaries, including Boris Johnson, have promised and failed to secure her freedom.

Nazanin’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, held a 21-day hunger strike that ended on the 13th of November in order to make sure he was well enough to care for their daughter, Gabriella. Whilst the strike did attract a lot of press attention and support from various political parties, the hoped for breakthrough did not appear as Boris Johnson refused to meet with Richard, and his meeting with the Middle East minister, James Cleverly, came to nothing. 

Join women in an ongoing relay of fasting, inspired by Margaret Owen’s description of her own solidarity hunger strike on a recent episode of the FiLiA podcast. Margaret made it clear that we need to keep up the pressure on the government and keep Nazanin’s name in the public eye. You’ll be part of a chain of women taking it in turns to fast for 24-hours to support these efforts and to show Nazanin just how much support she has from the sisterhood.

A note on Safeguarding - This action is for adult women above the age of 18 and Nazanin and Richard have made it clear that they do not want anyone making themselves ill by taking part. If you wish to take part in this action, please ensure that you are well enough. If you have any medical conditions, you should check with a doctor first to ensure that it is safe for you to do so. As Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare”.

Join the Hunger Strike to #FreeNazanin

To join this solidarity action, here are the action steps we are asking women to take:

1. Sign up for a day’s fasting using the calendar button below or click this link (Choose a 10 am slot to reserve the day, but the fast is for 24-hours from midnight-midnight). To avoid gaps, please select the next available slot. The slots are filling up fast, so please scroll to the next month to find a slot.

2. On the day allocated to you, don't eat any food (water is fine). We'll send a reminder 24 hours beforehand.

3. Send a profile picture to campaigns@filia.org.uk to add to our #FreeNazanin Solidarity Wall, found at the bottom of this page. We’ll also send it back to you with a frame to use on your social channels. You don’t have to show your face in the profile picture if you don’t want to, instead send a different image to represent you."

4. Write to your MP about your involvement in this solidarity action (scroll down to see a draft email you can use and access a tool to help you find your MP’s email address).

Please consider taking the following additional steps to raise the profile of this solidarity action to #FreeNazanin.

• Update your profile picture on all your social channels with your campaign frame (remember that we’ll create this for you when you send your photo to us - see point 3 above).

• Share at least one photograph to represent your protest (perhaps with a homemade placard) on your social channels to raise the profile of this action and encourage more women to join in. Remember to use hashtags #FreeNazanin #Women4Nazanin #Hungry4Justice and to tag FiLiA (Twitter - @FiLiA_charity, Facebook - @FiLiACharity, Instagram - @filia_pix). The social posts below can inspire you.

If you are unable to fast, please scroll down for some other actions you can take to support this campaign and show your solidarity to Nazanin and her family.