Mersedeh Shahinkar knows the cost of freedom.
The Iranian mother and activist, now living in California, carries the permanent scar of the Islamic Republic’s brutality.
Mersedeh Shahinkar was with her mother at a protest in Tehran, in October 2022 when she lost her eye. Instagram @mersedeh_eyeShe is blind in her right eye, the result of being shot by security forces during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022.
“I still say it was worth giving my eye for the freedom of my country,” said Shahinkar, who is in her early 40s, to The Post on Wednesday. “My deepest sorrow is that I wish I were in the streets of Iran right now, standing beside the people.
She attended one of the protests that had been triggered by the death of Masha Amini, the young Iranian who died in police custody for wearing her hijab incorrectly. Instagram @mersedeh_eye
“Even though I am blind in one eye and have endured this pain for three years, I would still return to the streets.”
From her home in exile, Shahinkar is now issuing a desperate plea to President Trump to intervene and help dismantle the Iranian regime that robbed her vision and uprooted her family.
Shahinkar’s life was thrown into turmoil three years ago when she joined the uprising against the government’s compulsory hijab laws.
While she said losing her eye was a “horrific event,” she has remained steadfast in her opposition to those in power in her homeland.
Shahinkar said her move to the US was not a choice but a “forced migration” after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked her home and pressured her family.
People hold placards and wave flags during a pro-government demonstration on January 12, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Getty ImagesToday, she is rebuilding her life from “below zero” while raising her daughter and continuing to serve as a voice for the voiceless in Iran.
Shahinkar said she is not asking for mere diplomatic statements but rather decisive military and technological action.
Her requests to Trump include: striking key military locations and weapons stockpiles belonging to the IRGC, providing the Iranian people with the tools to bypass regime shutdowns to communicate with the world and demanding that the US make “absolutely no deals” with Islamic Republic officials.
Mersedeh Shahinkar attends a press conference prior to the ceremony of the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought Award on Dec. 12, 2023 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. Anadolu via Getty Images“The people of Iran are truly grateful to Trump and truly grateful to Israel for [striking IRGC commanders],” Shahinkar said, noting that the elimination of figures such as Qasem Soleimani brought “relief and happiness” to many Iranians.
While the world used to view the protests through the lens of the hijab, Shahinkar insists the movement has evolved into a quest for total regime change.
According to Shahinkar, the regime is currently carrying out “crimes against humanity.” Right now, the death toll is estimated to be in the thousands.
The dissident, a supporter of Prince Reza Pahlavi as the chosen leader for the “new” Iran, warned that the regime’s promises of reform are “complete lies” intended to buy time.
“Words are no longer enough,” Shahinkar said. “Closing your eyes means complicity. …This news must not remain only newspaper headlines. There must be action.”
