After winning the prestigious German Book Prize, the Swiss author Kim de l’Horizon shaved her head on stage on Monday as a sign of solidarity with the women protesting in Iran.

“This award isn’t just for me,” the author, who describes himself as non-binary, told the audience at the award ceremony in Frankfurt.

“I think the jury also chose this text to set a sign against hate, for love and for the fight of all those people who are oppressed because of their bodies,” they said.

After being announced as the winner for her debut novel, Blood Book, the mustachioed author took the stage and sang a song before shaving her hair with an electric shaver on the podium.

The jury said she was “inspired” by the novel.

“With tremendous creative energy, the non-binary narrator of Kim de l’Horizon’s novel… searches for a language of her own,” said the jury.

The German Book Prize honors the best German-language novel of the year and is endowed with 25,000 euros.

The award ceremony traditionally precedes the start of the world’s largest Frankfurt Book Fair, which takes place from Wednesday to Sunday.

Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month, days after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly flouting Iran’s strict dress code for women.