On the eve of International Women’s Day, the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) publishes its report to CSW69 (2025), marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Like every other government, the Iranian regime has submitted a report to CSW69, although it is filled with hollow rhetoric and manipulated statistics.
The mullahs’ regime in Iran is not only uninterested in advancing toward global ideals but also a relic of feudalism, rooted in medieval ideologies that are utterly incompatible with modern civilization and the 2030 sustainable development goals.
Its primary tools for survival are domestic repression and the export of terrorism abroad. Within Iran, women are its principal targets. This regime does not represent the Iranian people; rather, it is their enemy and one of the greatest threats to global security.
It defies reason that a state could claim progress, especially the empowerment of women, while operating under laws where:
l Men are deemed the inherent heads of households.
l Women could not leave their homes without their husband’s permission.
l Women could not choose their profession or travel without male approval.
l Girls as young as 13—or younger—can be forcibly married off with the consent of a father or judge, often against the wishes of the girl or her mother.
l Women are recognized as the sexual property of men, criminalizing refusal to comply with a husband’s demands.
l Fathers can kill their daughters in the most brutal ways without facing serious punishment.
l Violence and murder against women are not criminalized.
In such a country, the idea of empowering women and achieving gender equality seems utterly absurd.
This report goes beyond merely refuting the clerical regime’s baseless claims; it provides a comprehensive assessment of the situation of Iranian women across various dimensions, relying almost entirely on government sources.
The content of this document—organized into 13 chapters—does not fully capture the reality on the ground but provides glimpses into the harsh lives of Iranian women under the clerical regime, particularly in the context of the CSW69 session marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+30).
Other issues, including vast human rights violations, the execution of women, and the situation of political prisoners, have been dealt with in the NCRI Women’s Committee’s Annual Report 2025.
Nevertheless, the suffering of Iranian women under the clerical regime, a government rooted in misogyny and human rights abuses, cannot be captured within the pages of any book.
However, victimhood is only one side of the story for Iranian women. Guided by the rallying cry of “Women – Resistance – Freedom,” Iranian women have stood at the forefront of the fight against this medieval regime since day one. Their struggle has been long, complex, and bloody, with tens of thousands of women martyred and hundreds of thousands imprisoned and tortured. They have been at the helm of the resistance movement for over 40 years, inspiring women across the country. The world witnessed how this movement, led by women, gained widespread social momentum during the uprisings of 2019 and 2022.
Iranian women have shown the world that by leading the resistance movement and actively fighting against the misogynist religious tyranny, they will play a decisive role in overthrowing this oppressive regime. A new democratic republic will undoubtedly rise in a liberated Iran. On that day, the world will witness an unprecedented model of gender equality—a new standard of justice and freedom unlike anything seen before.
