Two years have passed since the death of Mahsa “Jina” Amini at the hands of the morality police on September 16, 2022. Yet, her death and the protest movement it sparked remain topics of global discussion. What made this protest movement distinct? What were the underlying causes, and what aspirations drove the protesters? Have any of their goals been realized, and if not, why?
The Iran 1400 Project provides analyses of Iran’s past century to inspire a bright vision for its future. Below is a range of our content, on the “Woman, Life, Freedom” (WLF) movement and the women’s movement over the last century to encourage this reflection. Key questions for consideration include: What connections or parallels does the WLF movement share with previous social movements and how is it unique? How does it fit within the broader movement for women’s rights in Iran? What does the evolution of the women’s movement reveal about the transformation of Iranian society?
Featured Content
The Women, Life, Freedom Movement: An Overall Evaluation
This article evaluates interviews conducted by the Iran 1400 Project with 16 scholars of Iran. Each scholar provides expertise on the movement’s impact, challenges, and potential trajectory. The scholars highlight the movement’s success in challenging mandatory hijab laws and unifying Iranians across social divides but also acknowledge the brutal crackdown by the Iranian government and the challenges of maintaining a movement under such repression. The scholars provide recommendations for the WLF movement, emphasizing the importance of developing a unified vision for Iran’s future, strategically harnessing international support, and empowering grassroots organizations. Ultimately, the various interviews underscore the WLF movement’s complex dynamics and crucial role in the fight for individual freedoms and social change within Iran.
See pieces of these interviews within the broader context of the women’s movement in Placing the WLF Protests in the Broader Context of Iran’s Women’s Movement.
See the individual interviews with Arash Azizi, Mojtaba Mahdavi, Ali Akbar Mahdi, Azadeh Momeni, Pamela Karimi, Asma Mehan, Nahid Siamdoust, Sarah Eskandari, Frieda Afary, Houman Sarshar, Tom Walsh, Mona Tajali, Farzin Vahdat, Hoda Mahmoudi, Haideh Moghissi, and Camron Michael Amin here.
Iran and Three Revolutions: Comparing 1906, 1979 and 2022 in a Global Perspective
In this video presentation, Dr. Arash Azizi frames the WLF movement within the context of Iran’s three major protests over the past century. He stresses that while the movement is rooted in demands for democracy and civic rights, it’s also about Iranians reclaiming their narrative and shaping their future on their terms. This perspective highlights the movement’s depth and complexity, going beyond surface-level interpretations of simply wanting “Western-style” reforms. He provides a nuanced view of the movement’s challenges, criticizing the lack of organized leadership and the “idealistic” notion that revolutions can be won solely on social media. This critique underscores the need for a pragmatic approach that combines online activism with concrete political organization if the movement aims to achieve lasting change.
Social Media, Visuality, Music, and Iran’s Gen-Z Uprising
In his presentation, Dr. Tom Walsh zeroed in on the unprecedented role of Generation Z and the social media platform TikTok in amplifying the WLF movement’s message. He argues that the visual nature of TikTok, with its easily shareable videos, music, and symbols, has been crucial in conveying the movement’s message to a global audience. This perspective emphasizes the innovative ways in which the movement has leveraged technology to overcome censorship and garner international solidarity.
Through his analysis of popular TikTok trends – like “Get Ready With Me” videos repurposed to show solidarity with the Movement – Walsh demonstrates how seemingly apolitical content has been creatively appropriated to communicate powerful messages of resistance and resilience.
View Dr. Walsh’s full paper here.
Background
The Women’s Movement over the Past Century
Dr. Ali Akbar Mahdi’s Women’s Movement in Iran: An Historical Approach and The Iranian Women’s Movement: A Century Long Struggle, Hoda Mahmoudi’s Freedom and the Iranian Women’s Movement, and the Iran 1400 Project’s The Fickle History of the Women’s Movement in Iran provide rich explorations of the Iranian women’s movement over the past century, extending beyond a simple timeline of events to examine the complex interplay of modernity, religion, and political power in shaping this struggle. Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi’s Shifting Dynamics of Sexuality and Women’s Rights in Iran and Mehrangiz Kar’s From Engendering Laws to Its “Gender Blindness” also cover the evolution of the women’s movement over the past century, with Yaghoobi focusing on sexuality and Kar concentrating on legal developments.
These sources, by illuminating the historical trajectory of the Iranian women’s movement, offer crucial context for understanding the motivations and aspirations driving the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Fueled by a deep-seated desire for freedom and equality, the WLF protests echo the struggles and aspirations of Iranian women throughout history who have consistently challenged patriarchal structures and advocated for their rights, both within and outside the confines of religious and political systems. These historical insights underscore the significance of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests as a continuation of a century-long struggle by Iranian women for autonomy, equality, and a just society. The protests signal the unwavering spirit of Iranian women and their refusal to be silenced in their demand for a future where they are free to exercise their fundamental rights.
Women’s Issues under the Islamic Republic
In Women and the Islamic Republic: How Gendered Citizenship Conditions the Iranian State, Dr. Shirin Saeidi challenges the dominant masculine theorizations of state-making in post-revolutionary Iran, demonstrating that despite the Islamic Republic’s non-democratic structures, multiple forms of citizenship have developed in post-revolutionary Iran.
In Women’s Political Representation in Iran and Turkey, Dr. Mona Tajali highlights how women in Iran navigate the opportunities and challenges posed by the country’s political, legal, institutional, and social structures.
Lastly, Richa Bhattarai’s article Can a Woman Become President in Iran? It’s Complicated. delves into the complex and ongoing debate surrounding the potential for a female president in Iran.
The Iran 1400 Project invites scholars, experts, and intellectuals to share their assessments of the evolution of institutions and ideas during the past century to inspire a vision of Iran in the 1400s. Please support our shared mission by making one-time or monthly tax-deductible contributions to Iran 1400 Inc. or contact [email protected].
Sydney Martin is the Project Director of the Iran 1400 Project. He received his BA in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the Iran 1400 Project, he studied in Tajikistan with a Fulbright-Hays scholarship and interned at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.
