Women in Iran: 40 years of saying NO to the Islamic Republic and Political Islam

The first movement that stood up against the Islamic Republic The sensational women’s protest on 8 March 1979 was the first social movement against the Islamic Republic. Women took to the streets to say no to the hijab; but it went far beyond the hijab. Slogans in the protest included: “Freedom of women, freedom of society”, “We didn’t make the revolution to go backwards”, “Women’s rights are neither Eastern nor Western, they are universal”, “Freedom isn’t conditional”- reflecting people’s expectations from the 1979 revolution. They were the forerunners of another revolution against the Islamic Republic.

Women and the revolutionary movement in Kurdistan In April 1979, the Islamic Republic staged a military attack on Kurdistan and dropped Napalm bombs on the city of Sanandaj. This was a place where people had no illusions about the Islamic Republic and wanted to continue the revolution. In Sanandaj, people were directly involved in running the city through their councils. Women played a prominent role on the various fronts of the revolutionary movement in Kurdistan, including in the partisan war, against the Islamic Republic.

Women and the 1980s genocide The Islamic Republic managed to establish its rule by repressing unemployed workers, attacking the Turkmen Sahra people’s councils, raiding newspapers, attacking universities, widespread purges of government offices, attacking workers’ councils all over the country and eventually a full-scale genocide of all political activists and opposition groups. Women were at the forefront of the fight against the Islamic Republic and became victims of the regime’s killing machine.

Women and the Iran-Iraq war The Iran-Iraq war, which left more than one million dead, was, according to Khomeini, a “divine blessing” for the Islamic Republic. The war allowed the Islamic Republic, through the militarization of society and the mobilization of Iranian nationalism, to launch a comprehensive campaign to finalise the repression of workers’ councils, impose compulsory veiling and to consolidate the Islamic state.

The Islamic Republic was able to finally enforce compulsory veiling only after mass executions of political prisoners and under the cover of the war. But women’s resistance and the struggle against the hijab became one of the people’s biggest battles with the Islamic Republic. One of the most arduous tasks of the Islamic Republic’s forces of repression is to counteract the “lack of veiling” and “improper veiling”, and women have been pushing back the hijab and the Islamic regime with various initiatives and support from the people.

Women against gender segregation Protesting against the hijab isn’t the only area in which women confront the misogynist Islamic regime. Gender segregation is another of the inhumane policies of the Islamic regime that has faced rebellion by women and Iranian society. Women are at the forefront of the tireless battle against gender segregation in universities, workplaces, public spaces, leisure centres and sports stadiums.

Against stoning and execution The Islamic Republic has tried to consolidate its power by implementing brutal and medieval punishments such as the stoning and execution of women and men for extramarital relationships. On this front too, women have had a major role society’s protest against execution and stoning. As a result of these persistent protests, the Islamic Republic has practically stopped stoning and is under increasing pressure of anti-execution protests.

Against rape and misogynistic courts Standing up against sexual assault and rape is another constant battleground for women in Iran. The difference between Iran and elsewhere in the world is that the government and its officials are either involved in the rapes or defend them. Women like Reyhaneh Jabbari and Zahra Navidpour, who were the victims of these crimes of the Islamic Republic, have become legendary figures.

Against patriarchal and Islamic culture A huge cultural battle is taking place in Iranian society. It’s the battle of dance and happiness and respect for human beings against the culture of mourning, enmity with music and interference in one’s private life; the struggle for the freedom of sexual relations, sexual orientation, the right to divorce, etc., and against Islamic and patriarchal culture, morals, laws and traditions… This battle has put the Islamic Republic under such immense pressure that its leaders speak of their defeat in the fight against a “cultural invasion”. Women are at the forefront of this battle.

Women at the forefront of the 2009 mass protests Women’s significant role in Iranian society became apparent in the 2009 mass protests that not only shook Iran but the whole world. Many of the protests were initiated and led by women. The armed forces openly attacked women in the protests. It was no coincidence that Neda Agha Soltan, who was shot dead by agents of the Islamic Republic, became the symbol of this revolutionary movement.

Against Islamic acid attacks The Islamic Republic has repeatedly used acid and razor attacks to impose hijab on unveiled and ‘improperly veiled’ women. The height of this criminal behaviour was in September 2014 in the city of Isfahan when regime’s agents carried out several acid attacks. But this brutality was answered with a massive wave of protests by men and women, and the Islamic regime retreated.

Nude protest Nude protest against turning women’s bodies into a taboo and a commodity, against political Islam and its patriarchal morals, has been embraced by women in Iran. Artists, political activists and communists outside of Iran have joined this movement.

Women in the 2018 revolutionary uprising In January 2018, in more than 100 Iranian cities, radical protests against all factions of the Islamic Republic took place that have changed the entire political equations in Iran. The new and revolutionary movement for the overthrow of the regime has begun. Again, women were at the forefront of the protests.

Girls of Revolution Street From the heart of the 2018 protests, there emerged a powerful and influential movement against the hijab and the Islamic Republic that came to be known as the “Girls of Revolution Street”. Vida Movahed was the first woman who removed her hijab and put it on a stick. Many women followed her example and society warmly welcomed it. It’s quite evident that the Islamic Republic is losing the battle over the hijab. The authorities themselves speak of the “decline of the hijab”.

Women’s role in the current strikes The uprising of January 2018 took place against the backdrop of widespread strikes by workers, teachers and others, but it itself paved the way for the growth of those strikes. The strike of the Haft Tapeh sugar cane workers, the strike by steelworkers of Ahavz, the teachers’ national strike, the general strike in Kurdistan and the truck drivers’ strike are among the protests in which women played a significant role.

Women and the fight against political imprisonment Currently, the prisons of the Islamic Republic are full of worker activists, students, teachers, journalists, lawyers, environmental activists, ethnic and religious minorities, and many other dissidents. Many women behind bars are today well-known figures in the fight against imprisonment, lack of rights and torture in prisons.

The Iranian revolution is a women’s revolution In Iran, a massive revolutionary movement is taking place to overthrow the Islamic Republic, especially after the 2018 uprising. Women, who have been struggling heroically against the regime for 40 years, are at the forefront of the struggle to get rid of the Islamic Republic and to establish freedom and equality in Iran. Today, it is apparent to any observer that the “Iranian revolution is a women’s revolution!”

Women in Iran: 40 years of saying NO to the Islamic Republic and Political Islam

On this International Women’s Day we are celebrating the magnificent struggle of Iranian women for equality and freedom.

Happy International Women’s Day!

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