For some, the story began on the first 8th of March in 1979, following the Islamic Revolution, when women protested the mandatory hijab and opposed the repeal of the Family Protection Law, alongside the daily struggle of women for survival. Few recognize the uprising as a continuation of the movement that began in 1910.

For others, Jîna Mahsa Amini’s murder was the turning point that ignited these struggles and the daily fight against the oppressive Islamic Republic regime, which has proven to be the greatest violator of women’s rights. The slogan "Women, Life, Freedom" is a protest against the denial of women's right to live freely. It serves as a beacon of hope for many, lighting the way forward.

Those fighting for women's rights and who believe in the slogan stand on the shoulders of past fighters and activists, upholding their genuine ideals to transform the deeply rooted misogyny embedded in the regime's attitude towards women.

First attempts
The centenary of the founding of the Iranian Patriotic Women's Association has now passed. Over 100 years ago, this group of intellectual women in Tehran aimed to raise awareness and educate women. The Iranian Women's Rights Movement, a social movement advocating for women's rights, first emerged after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1910—the same year the first women's periodical was published by women. In the inaugural issue, they boldly wrote: 'Hijab, superstition, delusion, and the confinement of tradition have blocked the vision of men and women in this country.' This statement led to the magazine being revoked just three days after its publication."

At the same time, global movements were gaining momentum. In Sweden, a general strike was underway, and women were fighting for the right to vote. Ellen Key was celebrated on her 60th birthday, while Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman and Swede to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Between 1962 and 1978, the Iranian women’s movement achieved significant victories, including the right to vote in 1963 as part of Mohammad Reza Shah’s White Revolution. Women gained more public participation, and, in 1975, the Family Protection Law expanded divorce, custody rights, and reduced polygamy. However, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women’s rights were severely restricted, with misogynistic laws introduced, such as mandatory veiling and a strict public dress code for women.

The low status of women and the suppression of many organizations limited their activism. However, Iranian women were aware of the conditions and educational opportunities abroad, drawing inspiration from them. Women's writings from that era remain one of the most valuable sources of insight into the movement.

A Retrospective on the 1900s: Societies and Organizations as Enlightening Thresholds
In 1906, despite the parliament's refusal of their demands, women established several organizations, including the Society for Women's Freedom, which operated in secret until it was discovered and attacked. Around 1918, the Patriotic Women's Association was founded. During this early phase of the women’s movement, those involved were typically the daughters, sisters, and wives of prominent constitutionalists, often educated and from middle-class backgrounds.

This situation changed dramatically with Iran’s 1906 Constitutional Revolution, which introduced a European-style parliamentary democracy, a constitution based on the 1831 Belgian Constitution, and a progressive bill of rights. It also promoted forward-thinking ideas, such as expanding women's access to education and the public sphere. Elite women established women's societies, schools, clinics, orphanages, and even home theatres.

At the same time, high-ranking clerics were outraged by these changes, branding the progressive constitutionalists as "atheists" and warning that Muslim women would soon be wearing pants and marrying non-Muslim men. Despite this, a generation of male journalists, parliamentary deputies and poets supported the women's movement, temporarily overcoming conservative clerical opposition. However, the revolution met a tragic and abrupt end in 1911, when Russia, in collusion with Great Britain, occupied the country.

Reza Pahlavi Era (1925-1941)
The rise of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925 marked a new chapter in gender and sexual politics, alongside the emergence of a more educated middle class. While democracy remained elusive, Reza Shah Pahlavi, ruling for just 16 years, supported the constitutionalists' goal of modernity. During his reign, he implemented several modernizing reforms that shaped Iranian society.

Women's first major strides came in education. Many were admitted to Tehran University, and in 1928, Reza Pahlavi provided financial support for women to study abroad. By 1944, education became compulsory. The Second Congress of Women of the East, held in Tehran, connected Iranian women activists with international counterparts. He also enforced the mandatory unveiling of women, a reform supported by leading women’s rights activists and women’s organizations, though it caused social desegregation in some areas.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1941-1979)
The 1940s marked a growing awareness of women's roles in society, while the 1950s saw the formation of numerous women’s rights organizations. In 1959, fifteen of these groups united as the High Council of Women's Organizations in Iran, focusing on securing women’s suffrage. Despite opposition from clerics, women gained the right to vote in 1963 through the White Revolution, which also allowed them to stand for public office. Six women were elected to Parliament, and by the late 1960s, women entered the diplomatic corps, judiciary, police force, and revolutionary service corps.

A Trailblazer and Tragic Figure
In 1968, Farrokhroo Parsa became the first female cabinet minister in Iran. A physician and educator, she was a passionate advocate for women's rights, successfully petitioning Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for women's suffrage and driving legislative reforms to improve laws related to women and family. However, after the Iranian Revolution, Parsa was arrested and tried by the Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges including "plundering the national treasury" and "spreading corruption and prostitution" in the Ministry of Education.

In 1969, women entered the judiciary, with five female judges appointed, including future Nobel peace laureate, Shirin Ebadi. Women also began serving on town, city, and county councils. To strengthen the organization of women's activities, a coalition of women’s groups established the Women’s Organization of Iran in 1966.

Achievements of the Women’s Organization of Iran
The Women’s Organization of Iran (WOI), had to tirelessly advocate for every advancement. A major achievement was the Family Protection Law of 1975, which granted women equal rights in marriage and divorce, improved child custody rights, raised the minimum marriage age to 18 for women and 20 for men, and virtually abolished polygamy. Additionally, abortion was legalized by removing penalties related to medical malpractice. Labour laws were revised to ensure equal pay for equal work and eliminate sex discrimination, and women were encouraged to pursue political office.

By 1978, significant progress had been made in women's education and political representation in Iran. Nearly 40% of girls aged six and older were literate, with over 12,000 women literacy corps members teaching in villages. Women constituted 33% of university students and more women than men took the entrance exam for medical school. 333 women were elected to local councils, 22 to parliament, and 2 to the Senate. The government also saw a cabinet minister for women's affairs, three sub-cabinet under-secretaries, one governor, an ambassador, and five women mayors. Iran established itself as a leader in advancing women's rights among developing countries, contributing ideas and funds to the UN Regional Centre for Research and Development for Asia and the Pacific and the International Centre for Research on Women.

The 1979 Revolution, the Aftermath
On March 8, 1979, women and girls, along with their male supporters, began a week of protests in Tehran, starting on International Women’s Day. They were rallying against the new Islamic regime's mandate requiring women to wear hijabs. The demonstrations, fuelled by a sense of betrayal over the revolution’s trajectory, grew to at least 50,000 participants. Protesters chanted slogans such as “In the dawn of freedom, we have no freedom” and “We didn’t make a revolution to go backwards.” The movement garnered international support, including from American feminist Kate Millet and the International Committee for Women’s Rights, led by French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.

Women took to the streets for six days, chanting against the regime but faced violence and were labelled as traitors, counterrevolutionaries, bourgeois, pro-imperialist stooges, or even prostitutes. Counter-protesters attacked them with knives, stones, bricks, and broken glass.

The women’s protests seemed effective. Shortly after the March 8 demonstrations, a high-ranking theologian retracted Khomeini's statements, signalling a partial victory for the protesters. However, this victory led to a decline in the women's mobilization, which had been the first major collective resistance against the Islamic Republic.

Despite the initial success of the protests, the mandatory hijab decree was later enforced more rigorously. Starting in July 1980, unveiled women were barred from government offices and public buildings, and faced job loss if they did not comply. Publicly unveiled women were attacked by revolutionaries. By July 1981, mandatory veiling in public was formally decreed, and in 1983, the Islamic Punishment Law was introduced, imposing corporal punishment for non-compliance. Women appearing without hijab could be whipped with up to 74 lashes. This law was enforced by the Islamic Revolution Committees and later by the Morality Police, also known as the Morality Patrol.

Additional changes included strict gender segregation in workplaces, schools, beaches, and sporting events. New laws were introduced that disadvantaged women in areas such as divorce, child custody, inheritance, citizenship, and retribution. As a result, many women chose to emigrate, leaving their homeland, families, and friends to build new lives abroad.

Retrogression
The Islamic Republic enacted a dramatic reversal of women's rights, reinstating outdated practices such as easy divorce for men, child marriage, and polygamy. These practices were enforced through modern surveillance and control mechanisms. Those accused of premarital or extramarital sex faced imprisonment or, in severe cases, stoning, while men in same-sex relationships were harshly punished or executed.

Repressive measures in Iran have sparked widespread protests, with women playing a crucial role from the early years of the Islamic Republic. They have led or joined men in fighting for education, employment, and human rights, and have championed specific women's rights. These protests, involving the working class, youth, and marginalized groups, highlight women's leadership and integration of feminist issues into broader social and economic concerns. The 2009 Green Movement, a major uprising against the fraudulent presidential elections, saw significant involvement from women. This period also marked a second wave of mass emigration from Iran, including many from elite and educated backgrounds.

Protests erupted after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite polls indicating he would lose, was declared the winner with an astonishing 62% of the vote. Millions took to the streets demanding, “Where is my vote?” New York Times reporter Roger Cohen observed that Iranian women were at the forefront of these demonstrations, encouraging men and enduring violence as they continued to protest.

Women were also key participants in the mass protests from December 2017 to January 2018, which were sparked by high inflation and government corruption. Protesters called for the end of the Islamic Republic and its foreign interventions, even chanting, “Death to Khamenei.” Thousands, including many women, were arrested by security forces.

They have also taken leading roles in various social campaigns, including the Campaign to Release Political Prisoners, the Campaign to Eradicate Stoning and Executions, the Campaign for Environmental Reform, the Campaign of Mothers for Peace, and the Campaign Against the Rape and Torture of Political Prisoners.

Iranian feminist activists such as Shirin Ebadi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, and Narges Mohammadi have gained international recognition as bold leaders advocating for a more democratic society in Iran.

More recently, Iranian feminists have launched a #MeToo Campaign to address sexual harassment, abuse, assault, and rape, naming prominent figures such as Revolutionary Guard commanders, clerics, and intellectuals. Additionally, they have sought to end mandatory veiling. In 2014, journalist Masih Alinejad started the Facebook group "My Stealthy Freedom," encouraging women in Iran to post photos of themselves without hijabs. Despite significant personal risk, hundreds of women participated, drawing international attention to the movement.

On December 27, 2017, Vida Movahed became a symbol of resistance when she was arrested for tying her hijab to a stick and waving it in Tehran, inspiring others to engage in similar acts of defiance.

Five years later, on September 13, 2022, Jîna Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Despite her protests, she was taken into custody and reportedly beaten severely. She died three days later from brain injuries. The government's refusal to investigate or apologize for her death sparked nationwide outrage.

Demonstrations have erupted in over eighty cities and towns across Iran, with participants including young women, high school, middle school, and even elementary school students, who have removed their headscarves and chanted, “Death to the dictator!” The protests are driven by deep-seated anger against gender apartheid and have garnered support from men who are now also fighting for women’s freedom.

This unrest follows several smaller protests in recent years. In September 2019 a young girl, died after setting herself on fire to protest the ban on women attending soccer matches. Later in 2019 and 2020, demonstrations over rising gasoline prices evolved into broader anti-government protests, initially focused on smaller cities and rural areas. While these protests addressed different issues—gender apartheid and economic grievances—they had remained largely separate until now.

The 2022 uprising represents a turning point in Iran’s modern history, signalling a significant victory, regardless of its current outcome. This movement has already set in motion a profound and irreversible transformation in the country. What sets this moment apart is the convergence of multiple social justice movements—women’s rights, civil rights, and minority rights—united in their common struggle against long-standing oppression. These movements, supported by a broad coalition of the Iranian population, including both the middle and working classes, have brought the nation to the brink of challenging the authoritarian theocratic regime that has dominated for more than four decades.

Women, who have been at the forefront of these protests, continue to play a pivotal role in pushing for legal and social reforms that address systemic discrimination and inequality. Their fight is not only for their rights but also for a broader vision of justice and freedom that resonates across all segments of society. The movement for women’s rights in Iran is no longer isolated but is intricately connected to the broader demand for fundamental freedoms, and it serves as a driving force in the ongoing efforts to reshape the nation’s future. With the support of both national and international communities, this uprising has ignited a powerful, transformative wave that has the potential to dismantle oppressive structures and pave the way for a more equitable and democratic Iran.