o the outside world, it may seem as though the Iranian women’s movement began in a single moment—ignited by the tragic killing of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of the “morality police.” For the women of Iran however, this was the tipping point of a revolution that has been simmering for decades. Now, that it has caught fire and taken hold, it has become a blaze that has spread far beyond even the diaspora. For the first time in living memory, it has crossed beyond Iran’s borders and is transcending space and time. The plight of Iranian women—their oppression, fury, and frustration—are sentiments that are now being felt by women the world over. The women who protest today in solidarity with Iran are not only protesting for their own generation, but for the generations of the past and the women of the future.
The oppression of women is global. Whether we look at the change in abortion laws and the resulting loss of bodily autonomy in the United States or women’s brutal loss of access to education in Afghanistan—the world is empathizing with Iranian women who are risking their lives to use their voices to fight for basic rights. It may be happening in different ways in different parts of the world, but ultimately it all boils down to the same fight for the right to freedom of choice—to be agents of our own bodies and our own lives.
In order to understand what my Iranian sisters are fighting for today, we must consider the dramatic changes that took place in 1979 when the Islamic Republic first came to power. When this happened, the legal age that girls could marry was reduced from eighteen to nine overnight and the right to polygamy was reintroduced. This desire to yield power over women’s bodies was made clear to the public through laws forcing the use of the veil—laws that are now the catalyst for this uprising. The forces of feminine power who are driving this movement are the children of the revolution—a generation who have watched the rest of the world evolve while their own lives have remained shrouded in conservative control and dangerous misogyny, masquerading behind religion.
We find ourselves caught in a game of power, where numerous systems of oppression reside—gender, race, class, and imperialism. These are systems that ultimately thrive on imbalance and inequality. This precedence of polarity caused new levels of instability, which have never been as clear as they are today. Women seek to rebalance the scales. Once again, in the midst of war, insecurity, famine, poverty, and chaos, the responsibility has subliminally been passed onto women to address this inequality as global issues always seem to hit us the hardest. We are fighting against centuries of deprivation and oppression against women so that humanity can evolve.
I often reflect on the impact that imperialism, exploitation, and foreign intervention had on my homeland—factors which eventually led to the 1979 revolution. I was born in the tenth year of the founding of the Islamic Republic and I was nine years old when my mother decided that we should leave the country. Despite its catastrophic effects, it is not hard to see that the revolution gave birth to an entire populace of fierce women, whose strength and determination know no bounds. Today, the world now knows who Iranian women are. They have the stage and this is no fleeting performance. While the limelight will fade as a new story grips the headlines, many of us will go back to our lives, but that will not be the case for Iranian women.
For this uprising to drive seismic change, it needs the collective support of men and women from afar. Peaceful protests and the willingness to amplify the stories and voices of Iranian women are the most vital lifeline that we can give. We must rise up in the knowledge that we must all be feminists and fight for the rights of all women, everywhere. We must fight for the world we want our children and their children to grow up in. We have the opportunity to be on the frontlines of justice—we must take it. What the women of Iran need more than ever, is to know that the world is finally listening.
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The World is Finally Listening to Iranian Women
Ottawa, Canada rally in support of Iranian protests over Mahsa Aminia's death. "Iran Protests" image courtesy of Taymaz Valley, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
October 6, 2022
With the tragic murder of Mahsa Amini in Iran, the world's attention has turned to the plight of Iranian women. While this murder has been a tipping point for the movement, however, this revolution has been simmering for decades, explains Sage Foundation founder & UNICEF Senior Advisor Naza Alakija.
T
o the outside world, it may seem as though the Iranian women’s movement began in a single moment—ignited by the tragic killing of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of the “morality police.” For the women of Iran however, this was the tipping point of a revolution that has been simmering for decades. Now, that it has caught fire and taken hold, it has become a blaze that has spread far beyond even the diaspora. For the first time in living memory, it has crossed beyond Iran’s borders and is transcending space and time. The plight of Iranian women—their oppression, fury, and frustration—are sentiments that are now being felt by women the world over. The women who protest today in solidarity with Iran are not only protesting for their own generation, but for the generations of the past and the women of the future.
The oppression of women is global. Whether we look at the change in abortion laws and the resulting loss of bodily autonomy in the United States or women’s brutal loss of access to education in Afghanistan—the world is empathizing with Iranian women who are risking their lives to use their voices to fight for basic rights. It may be happening in different ways in different parts of the world, but ultimately it all boils down to the same fight for the right to freedom of choice—to be agents of our own bodies and our own lives.
In order to understand what my Iranian sisters are fighting for today, we must consider the dramatic changes that took place in 1979 when the Islamic Republic first came to power. When this happened, the legal age that girls could marry was reduced from eighteen to nine overnight and the right to polygamy was reintroduced. This desire to yield power over women’s bodies was made clear to the public through laws forcing the use of the veil—laws that are now the catalyst for this uprising. The forces of feminine power who are driving this movement are the children of the revolution—a generation who have watched the rest of the world evolve while their own lives have remained shrouded in conservative control and dangerous misogyny, masquerading behind religion.
We find ourselves caught in a game of power, where numerous systems of oppression reside—gender, race, class, and imperialism. These are systems that ultimately thrive on imbalance and inequality. This precedence of polarity caused new levels of instability, which have never been as clear as they are today. Women seek to rebalance the scales. Once again, in the midst of war, insecurity, famine, poverty, and chaos, the responsibility has subliminally been passed onto women to address this inequality as global issues always seem to hit us the hardest. We are fighting against centuries of deprivation and oppression against women so that humanity can evolve.
I often reflect on the impact that imperialism, exploitation, and foreign intervention had on my homeland—factors which eventually led to the 1979 revolution. I was born in the tenth year of the founding of the Islamic Republic and I was nine years old when my mother decided that we should leave the country. Despite its catastrophic effects, it is not hard to see that the revolution gave birth to an entire populace of fierce women, whose strength and determination know no bounds. Today, the world now knows who Iranian women are. They have the stage and this is no fleeting performance. While the limelight will fade as a new story grips the headlines, many of us will go back to our lives, but that will not be the case for Iranian women.
For this uprising to drive seismic change, it needs the collective support of men and women from afar. Peaceful protests and the willingness to amplify the stories and voices of Iranian women are the most vital lifeline that we can give. We must rise up in the knowledge that we must all be feminists and fight for the rights of all women, everywhere. We must fight for the world we want our children and their children to grow up in. We have the opportunity to be on the frontlines of justice—we must take it. What the women of Iran need more than ever, is to know that the world is finally listening.
