Zhina was Mahsa Amini's second name. In Kurdish, Zhina means “new life”. According to her mother, Mojgan Eftekhari, everyone in the family called her Zhina. However, due to restrictions on choosing Kurdish names, her official name was registered as Mahsa. In Persian, the name Mahsa means “beautiful moon”. Two years ago, in September 2022, Iran's morality police took the “life” from Zhina and deprived her family of seeing this “beautiful moon”. This was neither the first nor the last state-sanctioned femicide. Misogyny and femicide lie at the heart of Iran's gender politics, rooted in its patriarchal traditions, Sharia law, and political Islam.

But why did Zhina's murder receive so much attention?

The marginalized become visible
The murder took place at the intersection of gender, class, and ethnic discrimination—a place where marginalized, powerless, and invisible groups in society met. A place where a “life” was taken—because of a headscarf! A place where “tolerance” no longer held, and anger and fury erupted. The state-sanctioned murder of Zhina occurred in Tehran, but the public uprising against this murder began at the Aychi cemetery in the city of Saqqez, Kurdistan, where Zhina was born. On her tombstone, it is written: “You are not dead Zhina, your name will become a symbol.” And so it did. Zhina began her new life from her tombstone. Her name became a symbol—a symbol of a movement and a symbol of “defending the right to life”. This uprising started in Iranian Kurdistan, a region with a long tradition of struggle against gender, class, and ethnic oppression. Gradually, voices from the invisible margins in Balochistan, Khuzestan, and other provinces and cities in Iran also rose.

The beginning of growth and rebellion
The slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) began at Zhina’s grave. This liberating slogan, originating from the Bakur women’s movement in Turkish Kurdistan, reached the Rojava women’s movement in Syrian Kurdistan and spread to Zhina’s burial site in Iranian Kurdistan. Two journalists, Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, were among the first to report on this event, capturing moments from the hospital to the cemetery and onto the streets. In this way, Zhina/Mahsa Amini began her new life, spreading through others’ bodies, pens, voices, movement, and rebellion. She not only transcended geographical borders, resistance and movement but also challenged mental boundaries, becoming a turning point in the history of feminist, political, and social struggle in Iran.

Nothing is the same as before
The voice of the revolutionary movement “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) also created a cultural shift in society. What started as a protest against Zhina’s murder and a defense of the right to choose one's clothing evolved into a cultural revolution throughout society. Even though many may not have taken to the streets, their thoughts, views, and behaviors changed. As a result, nothing is the same after Zhina's murder and the subsequent uprising.

A revolutionary movement in the making
The revolutionary movement “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” is not a project that can be completed; it is an ongoing revolution in daily life. The diversity and pluralism of this movement, along with the reevaluation of historical and activist perspectives and the creation of oral history within this movement, have been extensive. Stories, literature, films, images, radio, podcasts, and books as collective actions have enriched the literature of this two-year movement. These creations are not just the result of individual creativity but part of a shared dream in society against tyranny and hopelessness. It is a movement that does not just focus on changing state power but carries a democratic vision aimed at not only transforming power relations but also revolutionizing the mindset and consciousness of everyone.

Collective imagination and collective power
Forty-five years of continuous oppression under the Islamic Republic have shown that the Iranian regime does not intend to back down. Over the past two years, repression has intensified on all fronts: from torture, rape, and executions in prisons, murders on the streets, and deliberately shooting protesters in the eyes with shotguns, to poisoning students during school hours and delaying medical aid, from mass arrests and heavy prison sentences to exorbitant bail to paralyze citizens politically, economically, and psychologically. But despite two years of massive state repression, people have not given up because they are no longer afraid.

Has there been any change in Iranian society?
After the revolutionary people’s uprising, two major events occurred. In the collective imagination of the people, a vision of a democratic society without a tyrannical regime was etched, and the fear of tyranny disappeared. At the same time, the fear of losing power has become permanent for the authoritarian Iranian regime. The low voter turnout in the first round of the 14th presidential election in 2024 showed that despite the repression, the collective power of the people can stand against it.

Even today, many critics and opponents of the regime are imprisoned. Two Kurdish women's rights and political activists, Bakhshan Azizi and Risheh Moradi, along with political and social activist Sharifah Mohammadi, have been sentenced to death. The mandatory hijab is still legally enforced, and its enforcers remain on the streets. But the presence of women with chosen clothing, despite repressive forces, sends another message. It shows that the struggle for women's and people's rights has gone far beyond the regime's barriers and continues forward. It shows that the collective power inscribed in the memory of the streets in more than 120 Iranian cities lives on.