Shirin Taber grew up with a Muslim father and a Christian mother. As an Iranian American, a young Taber wished everyone back in Iran could experience the same religious freedom she enjoyed.

Now the executive director of Empower Women Media, Taber has dedicated her life to that mission. And she’s heartened by what she’s seeing among young Iranian women. Responding to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly, young Iranian women are cutting their hair on camera, creating viral videos that protest everything from dress code restrictions to women’s unequal status in marriage.

“Gen Z is no-nonsense. They’ll just go out tough,” Taber told CT in a recent interview. “The girls, they’ll cut their hair, and they’ll jump on cars.”

Their understanding of oppression and emboldened approach to activism also make women “the best frontline workers for religious freedom” according to Taber.

“If you sent a woman to speak about religious freedom or advocate for it, the public was way more open to it than if you sent men,” Taber explained. “If you send men, they think, ‘Oh, he has an agenda, he’s from the CIA, he’s from the government.’ But if you send a woman, they’re like, ‘Oh, she sounds like my sister, she sounds like my mom.’”

The plight of Iranian women on the quest for religious and cultural freedom may seem like it’s a world apart from the lives of American women. And yet, the story of every woman—whether she is an ocean away or across the street—offers us a chance to say, “oh, she sounds like my sister.” May we consider what it looks like to act in solidarity with female image-bearers all over the world, remembering that, ultimately, we have far more in common than not.