Iranian Women Are Persisting After a Year of Protests

A year after protests in Iran erupted over a Kurdish woman’s death, initiating the largest uprising against the country’s clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, activists continue to fight.

The “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” movement started after 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini was detained by the country’s morality police for loosely wearing her hijab, dying in custody shortly after. Amini’s death prompted an outpour of global support and solidarity.

“I knew there was lots of tension, lots of anger, frustration under the skin of cities in Iran, but nobody knew when that was going to burst,” Elahe Amani, president of the Women’s Intercultural Network, said. “The protests have pointed out to the Islamic Republic that the essence of the movement is the rising of younger people, with women being at the forefront against authoritarianism.”

Amani was part of a student activist group at Tehran University in the 1970s, when Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was Shah of Iran. The “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” movement, she said, is different compared to previous activist efforts primarily due to the leadership role women have taken in it.

“Women have always been a part of social changes in Iran; however, this is the first time women are at the front,” Amani said. “The protests against authoritarianism are (being) embraced by not only the big cities but also by Balochistan, Kurdistan, and other borders of Iran that are more traditional in terms of gender role and gender division of labor.”

This opposition to the Iranian regime’s authoritarianism is not only happening societally but also at home, according to Amani.

“The movement causes polarization at home because the younger generations are redefining gender roles, but some people still hold onto regressive thinking, which causes tension and conflict at home as well,”Amani said. “Things like honor killings and suicides happen because women’s desires are being suppressed. So, in a sense, this rise against authoritarianism is a rise against the patriarchy.”

Resistance continues daily in Iran. One form that takes is through not abiding by mandatory hijab rules. As a response to the long-standing resistance, the Iranian government’s crackdown has increased through surveillance technology to identify those who are not abiding by their hijab laws. If detected, people then receive text messages as warnings of the consequences, according to a police statement.

“Can you imagine the high school students who participated in the protests?” Amani said. “This experience will definitely shape their core identity. I deeply believe we cannot go back to the situation, to the dynamic of powers before the movement.”

Other Iranians are continuing clusters of anti-government demonstrations, even though more than 500 people have been killed during the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi rallies and over 22,000 have been arrested. Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, who has been arrested numerous times for leading protests across the country, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month for her determined efforts. The Norwegian Nobel Committee urges her to be released before the ceremony Dec. 10.

“The situation in Iran is very complex because we have different nationalities, religions, and a history of suppression,” Amani said. “If all these groups, political or women's groups, are working to achieve the dream of all of us for freedom, for human rights, for dignity, for democracy, why can't we work effectively with each other? We need civil societies, political organizations, and women’s movements to build bridges with each other. Despite our differences, we need to stand together for the future of Iran.”