On 2nd Anniversary of Woman, Life, Freedom: Women and Human Rights Organisations Urgently Call for Release of Women Human Rights Defenders and Upholding of Women’s Rights in Iran

16 September marks the two-year anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini's tragic death while in the custody of the morality police. The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman was arrested in Tehran for allegedly violating Iran's strict hijab laws. Her killing sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom uprisings, with women defiantly removing their hijabs at her funeral in Saqqez and feminist groups calling for protests. The movement quickly spread across Iran's universities and cities.

The Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran represents a pivotal moment of resistance against Iranian authorities’ gender-based, ethnic, and social oppression. It united women, with the support of men, from diverse communities including Kurds, Baluchis, and other marginalised communities alongside educators, students, and activists in a collective fight for human rights. During the protests, security forces detained thousands of demonstrators, many of whom were tortured and some reportedly sexually assaulted. Ethnic minority regions faced particularly violent crackdowns. At least 11 protesters were later executed.  

The mass imprisonment of at least 20,000 protesters, as estimated by human rights organisations, took place in dire conditions in Iranian prisons. Overcrowding, insufficient food, inadequate healthcare, and poor living conditions along with the judiciary’s inability to process the vast number of detainee cases, forced the Iranian government to announce a general amnesty in February 2023, releasing over 80% of those arrested, many of them protesters. Official reports indicate that at least 22,000 protesters were granted amnesty, underscoring the scale of the detention and subsequent release.

Despite the release of many protesters under the general amnesty, numerous activists, including feminist activists and women's rights defenders, remain in prison or face imminent imprisonment. According to reports, these individuals were seen by Iranian authorities as key figures in igniting the protests and promoting feminist demands as a result of their long-time activism in support of women’s rights. Additionally, further arrests of activists occurred in the months following the initial wave of protests. 

Over the past two years, Iranian women have persistently resisted and fought for their right to choose their own attire, defying the escalating brutality of the morality police, who returned to the streets after a brief hiatus. Women activists imprisoned across Iran have continued to courageously fight for their rights from within prison walls. Many consider these imprisoned women to be at the forefront of the struggle against human rights abuses and the driving force behind the enduring Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

Despite their long prison sentences, these imprisoned women human rights defenders remain steadfast in their support of civil society demands. Through hunger strikes, public statements, joint protest letters, and prison sit-ins, imprisoned women human rights defenders have revitalised the suppressed Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Their presence in public wards of prisons such as Lakan in Rasht, and their accounts of harsh conditions, have shed light on widespread prisoner rights violations and the dire state of Iran’s prisons. They have channeled their activism within prison walls, striving to improve conditions for all prisoners. From the notorious Evin in Tehran to Lakan in Rasht, Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, and Sepidar prison in Khuzestan, their persistence is a powerful testament to their courage and commitment to women and human rights in Iran.

At least 25 women human rights defenders associated with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement are currently imprisoned, with many more facing imminent imprisonment following trials and appeals hearings. It is critical that these women not be forgotten as the movement is suppressed and international attention wanes.

We, the undersigned, honor the courageous efforts of these women human rights defenders who, alongside generations of Iranian women activists, have been pivotal in raising awareness and advocating for women's rights in Iranian society.

We urge Iranian authorities to: 

• Immediately and unconditionally release all the women human rights defenders imprisoned in Iran, as well as all other human rights defenders.
• End the systematic violence and discrimination against women.
• Acknowledge and uphold women's rights to bodily autonomy and freedom of choice by repealing the compulsory hijab law, which has oppressed Iranian women for over four decades.
• Respect human rights by abolishing the death penalty, especially against women human rights defenders.  

We also urge international and regional human rights organisations to follow up on the situation of detained women human rights defenders, press for their unconditional release, and demand  that Iranian authorities ensure their safety and health while in detention.

We call on feminist groups and organisations to continue advocating for Iranian women’s rights and their demands for bodily autonomy through protests, peaceful gatherings, statements and advocacy efforts.

Signatories:

• ARC-Asia Protection Network for Artists at Risk Connection
• AWID
• Femena
• Front Line Defenders
• Gulf Centre for Human Rights
• Human Rights Watch
• Kurdistan Human rights Network
• Kurdpa
• Miaan Group
• OMCT
• Regional Coalition of WHRDs in SWANA (MENA) Region
• Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC)