The energetic and widespread presence of women in anti-regime protests, proves Iranian women are the Generation Equality
Every November, women around the world think of violence against women and of how to eliminate it and orange the world. Under the mullahs’ misogynist regime in Iran, however, violence against women has surpassed many limits. So much so that the regime’s experts on violence against women acknowledge Iran’s top rank in this field.
The international average rate of women experiencing violence in their lifetime is one in every three women but in Iran, the rate is 66 percent or two in every 3 women.
The patriarchal laws, encouragement of forced and child marriages, the government’s failure to criminalize violence against women, and the state being the main perpetrator of violence against women have led to a dramatic rise in domestic violence against women, with growing numbers of women murdered by their intimate partners, and hundreds of victims of honor killings.
The mullahs’ parliament also adopted a population growth plan in early November, which UN human rights experts said was in “clear contravention of international law.” The rights experts called on the Iranian regime to repeal the new law that “severely restricts access to abortion, contraception, voluntary sterilization services and related information, in direct violation of women’s human rights under international law.”
This November, we had the executions of two more women in Iran on 23 and 25 of November. An unidentified woman and her husband were hanged in the Prison of Yasuj, in Kohgiluyeh and Chaharmahal-e Bakhtiari for murder. Two days later, Maryam Khakpour was hanged in the Central Prison of Qazvin on drug-related charges.
The 33-year-old mother of a 4-year-old child was sentenced to stoning on bogus charges of having illicit relations with a man. Her sentence was later changed to execution.
The clerical regime continued its arrest and detention of human rights defenders. At the same time, it imposed further restrictions on political prisoners as the NCRI Women’s Committee reported during the month.
The restrictions are not limited to political prisoners but affect all female prisoners. Limiting fresh-air breaks in the overcrowded, unventilated women’s ward of the Central Prison of Urmia finally led to an angry protest by the inmates in early December.
In the face of this life of misery, Iranian women are intent to orange the world and change their conditions.
The world witnessed this November the active and widespread presence of women in the uprisings in Isfahan and Shahrekord, two nationwide protests by teachers, as well as in all the smaller protests throughout the country.
Women’s voices and fists were everywhere!
Tens of thousands of people joined the farmers of Isfahan on the 12th day of a sit-in protest on Friday, November 19.
The protesters covered a large area of the Zayanderud River bed. Thousands of women were among the protesters. They stridently chanted among others, “Guns, tanks (are useless), Mullahs must get lost,” “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life only for Iran,” “If the water does not flow, Isfahan will rise,” “Our enemy is right here, they lie it’s America,” “Beware of call by farmers to rebellion.”
Fearing the spread of the protest to other parts of Isfahan and Iran, the clerical regime shut down the internet to prevent dissemination of the images of this extensive demonstration in support of the farmers of Isfahan.
The farmers set up tents on the dry riverbed of Zayanderud and started a sit-in on November 8 to demand their water rights from the clerical regime. They want to restore water flows to the river to help irrigate farmlands turned dry and barren.
The mullahs’ mismanagement of Iran’s rivers and water has led to the destruction of agriculture and animal husbandry. Many farmers had to sell their livestock to survive.
Isfahan’s situation is particularly drastic where the watery Zayanderud River, which used to be the largest river on the Iranian plateau, has dried up.
A week later, on Friday, November 26, thousands of women joined men to defy and repel the security forces’ attack on Isfahan’s farmers.
Eyewitnesses said the widespread presence of women, actively leading the chants and confronting the security forces was remarkable. Even if you could not distinguish their faces among the crowd, their voices and their chants were everywhere, calling for unity against the nation’s No. 1 enemy. They vowed not to leave “until water is returned to Zayanderud River.”
Hundreds of security forces stormed and attacked peaceful protesters that wanted to gather near the Pol-e Khajoo Bridge at the dried riverbed of Zayanderud on Friday, November 26, 2021. Thousands of the people rushed to support the protesters and clashed with the anti-riot special units. The people also clashed with police on the streets of Isfahan.
Security forces dispersed the protesters, but they gathered again and finally forced security forces out of the scene.
The protests took place despite the clerical regime’s attack and setting fire to the farmers’ tent at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, and despite sending text messages to the people of Isfahan warning them against participating in the protest.
The two-week-long protest that farmers started, demanding their right to water share from Zayanderud, turned political, and the angry people and youth started chanting, “Death to Khamenei!” Women’s voices were loud and clear.
The footages coming from Iran showed widespread presence of women leading the crowd with their chants and rushing to the aid of those being beaten or arrested by security forces. The videos showed the security forces’ violent tactics to scatter the crowd. They also showed several protesters with bloodied heads and backs bruised by pellets.
Government troops forcefully cracked down on protesters firing tear gas and birdshots, blinding some 40 protesters and wounding at least 100. They arrested around 300 of the participants in the protest including minors.
The people of Shahrekord also rose in support of Isfahan farmers, demanding their water share.
Women played a very active role in four days of protests from November 21 to 24, and called for the protests to continue.
Security forces tried to prevent the protests from spreading. By taking control of the speech platform and its microphone, they attempted to prevent anti-government chants. The plainclothes agents clashed with the people and threw them off the platform. But the demonstrators continued to march, chanting anti-government slogans, and marched to the governor’s office.
“Unless the water problem caused by the mismanagement of the Islamic Republic and the water mafia is resolved, we will not give up for a moment and leave the square,” the demonstrators vowed.
Water scarcity blamed on government mismanagement
Experts on Iran’s water scarcity issues have blamed the long-running drought not only on lower than usual rainfall but also on years of government mismanagement of the country’s water resources.
The wrong policies of establishing Mobarakeh Steel in 1991 in Isfahan and Alloy Steel in 1999 in Yazd were among the measures that led to the destruction of water, wrote the state-run press. (The state-run Mostaghel newspaper – November 22, 2021)
The production of each kilo of steel consumes about 30,000 liters of water. In addition to the drying up of the Zayandehrud River, groundwater aquifers are also at high risk of drying out. (The state-run Setareh Sobh newspaper – November 22, 2021)
Of course, the clerical regime’s media and newspapers do not write about the nuclear and missile industries, which are located in the same areas and consume a large amount of Zayanderud’s water.
Since Iran’s governing body cannot solve the issues of concern, it finds the only solution in violently suppressing the protesters.
Two nationwide protests by teachers
Women were remarkably active in the teachers’ nationwide protests in Iran. Most cities saw the widespread presence of women who often led the chants.
The freedom-loving teachers of Iran held 2 nationwide protests on November 11 and December 2, 2021, in 53 and 66 cities, respectively.
The teachers’ protests were against their deplorable living conditions, low salaries, and high prices. They also decried the clerical regime’s disregard for their legitimate demands. They vowed not to relent until they obtain their rights.
In some cities, the protesting teachers carried photos of the victims of the November 2019 uprising.
The State Security Force (SSF) attacked the protesters in Tehran and tore down their pictures. The SSF also prevented filming of the protests. They violently arrested several teachers.
In Mashhad, the security forces used violence to disperse the teachers.
In Gorgan, teachers patched on the eye in solidarity with Isfahan protesters who were shot in the eye by the SSF and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), last Friday.
In some cities, including Ardabil, teachers held their protest despite freezing weather and snow.
In Isfahan, women chanted, “Teachers rise up and eliminate discrimination.”
In Rasht, they chanted, “Imprisoned teachers must be released!”
In Tabriz, they chanted, “Teachers are awake, and outraged by discrimination.”
The Iranian teachers’ nationwide protests geared up in September to obtain their legitimate demands for decent salaries and living conditions. Most teachers have very difficult livings with salaries that are one-fourth or one-third of the poverty line.
The energetic and widespread presence of women in anti-regime protests in Iran is tantamount to their equal participation in the political leadership of society. Iranian women have proven that indeed, they are the Generation Equality and they deserve the support of all women’s rights advocates in their struggle for freedom and equality.
