Today, as we mark the anniversary of the November 2019 uprising — one of the largest uprisings in modern Iranian history — we’ll explore the leading role of women, their widespread presence, and leadership in this movement. This uprising showcased extraordinary moments of courage and leadership by Iranian women.
We dedicate this episode to the women of the November 2019 uprising, and we’ll focus on the role of women in the Resistance Units and their contributions to the fight for Iran’s freedom.
Let’s start with this question: How would you describe the November 2019 uprising?
The November 2019 uprising was sparked on the 15th of November by a sudden hike in fuel prices. Protests rapidly spread to 191 cities. Iranians from all walks of life poured into the streets, chanting slogans like “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to Rouhani.”
In the early days of the uprising, protesters in cities such as Shiraz in the south, Behbahan in the southwest, also in Tehran Province, and other major cities temporarily liberated areas, challenging security forces and significantly disrupting the regime’s control.
Regime officials admitted that they were battling the uprising in 900 locations nationwide simultaneously, with 146 crisis points in Tehran alone. The scale and intensity of the uprising shook the regime to its core, so much so that they could only suppress it through brutal massacres. This uprising revealed the explosive potential and power of the Iranian people to overthrow the regime.
Women played a remarkable role in this uprising. Can you tell us the role and participation of women in the November 2019 uprising?
As I mentioned earlier, the regime resorted to mass killings to suppress the protests. Reuters reported that 1,500 people were killed, including 400 women—a minimum estimate given the regime’s lack of transparency.
Women’s participation was so significant that even regime-affiliated media acknowledged it. On November 20, 2019, Mashregh Daily wrote, “Women’s leadership was striking, playing a special role in pushing people toward subversive actions.” Fars News Agency similarly noted, “In many areas, especially Tehran’s suburbs, women in their 30s led the riots, often dressed uniformly and performing specific tasks, from filming to blocking cars and rallying others to join.”
These statements from the regime itself highlight the vast scale of women’s participation in the November uprising. Doesn’t it? It’s fascinating that women despite facing social and legal oppression, took on such a pivotal role in the November 2019 uprising. What motivates them and gives them such courage?
Ironically, this very oppression has made Iranian women the most potent force for change and regime overthrow. While they are motivated by their fight for their own rights, they also recognize that achieving these rights is impossible without the regime’s downfall and a broader fight for the freedom of all Iranians.
The November uprising was a peak in this struggle, where women, particularly those organized within the Resistance Units, played leading roles. They demonstrated that freedom is attainable through resistance. Their motto, “Woman, Resistance, Freedom” is more than just a slogan; it stems from 50 years of relentless struggle against two dictatorships, for which Iranian women have paid a heavy price.
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What are the Resistance Units, and where does their organization come from?
Resistance Units are cells of activists from various segments of society — particularly youth, women, and students— who engage in activities that shatter the regime’s wall of oppression and guide the public in their fight against the regime.
At this year’s July gathering in Paris, 20,000 acts carried out by these Resistance Units were highlighted. Their numbers grow daily, and they are the driving force behind uprisings and the genuine freedom fighters of Iran.
The Resistance Units are organized by the PMOI/MEK, the central force in the opposition coalition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (the NCRI).
Is the extensive participation of women in this uprising solely a response to the regime’s oppression, or are there deeper, more complex factors at play?
The regime’s oppression has undeniably driven women to fight for freedom, but Iranian women’s struggle dates back over 150 years to the Constitutional Revolution, when their courage and leadership were well-documented. Over the past 50 years, they have led the fight against both the Shah’s dictatorship and the current regime.
In the early years of the regime, women played a massive role in anti-regime activities, with tens of thousands executed in the 1980s for political dissent—paving the way for today’s generation.
Women continue to lead, holding key positions in the main opposition PMOI and the NCRI, remaining at the forefront of the fight for freedom.
So, those struggles have evolved to today’s point, where the widespread participation of women in the November 2019 uprising paved the way for their leading role in the 2022 uprisings. Each generation has passed invaluable lessons to the next.
I totally agree with you. You know, the regime and its allies have tried to minimize the struggle for the regime’s overthrow when women can achieve all their rights and freedoms. Instead, they have tried to replace it with the limited demand for freedom from Hijab. In this way, they try to mislead the struggle to overthrow the regime. However, during the 2022 uprising, female protesters and students rejected all forms of dictatorship, both the shah and the mullahs. They wisely chanted, “With or without the hijab, onward to the revolution.”
Now…. It’s been reported that the regime committed brutal violence against women and protesters during the November uprising. Is that true?
Yes, that’s absolutely true. The regime’s atrocities were shocking.
Amnesty International released a detailed report titled “Trampling Humanity: Mass Arrests, Enforced Disappearances, and Torture Since Iran’s 2019 Protests.” The report described the regime’s actions as “a catalog of shocking human rights violations,” documenting horrific testimonies of torture, including beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, sexual violence, and forced drugging.
Many detainees were subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, hooding, blindfolding, and systematic denial of access to legal representation. Women were not exempt from this violence; in fact, they often faced even greater brutality, including sexual violence.
So, what you say is that the detained protesters, whether arrested during the protests or in their aftermath, were subjected to vicious torture, sexual assault, and mock executions, among others. Other than that, I think how they killed the protesters was also shocking.
Yes, exactly. At the time, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that security forces shot protesters, even those fleeing the scene, aiming for their heads and chests — actions she classified as crimes against humanity.
Numerous women were shot in the head and neck while simply crossing the street. For instance, Azar Mirzapour, a nurse and a mother of four was killed, as was Golnar Samsami, the mother of a seven-year-old, who was struck by a bullet while waiting for a cab to go home. Fourteen-year-old Nikta Esfandani was shot in the head during the protests in Tehran, and Halimeh Samiri was tortured to death in Abadan, with her body dumped in front of her family’s home.
In Shiraz, Resistance Unit member Shabnam Dayani and 12 others were run over by security vehicles and then gunned down. In Gorgan, protesters were attacked with axes. These are just a few examples of the regime’s crimes against humanity, highlighting the extent of state violence against women.
Yes, Iran is a vast prison for women, with the clerical regime being the leading executor of women and the primary state sponsor of violence against them. The regime encourages violence against women in various ways, both on a large scale and in public and private spheres.
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That wraps up this episode of the NCRI Women’s Committee podcast.
For more information on violations of women’s rights in Iran and their ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy, visit our website at wncri.org.
Please keep Iranian women in your thoughts. Until the next episode, we wish you bright and happy days.
