On International Women’s Day, political prisoner Forough Taghipour, currently held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, has penned her account of years of resistance, imprisonment, and steadfast defiance against religious tyranny. Having been familiar with the concepts of prison and repression since childhood, she recounts her personal experiences and the arduous path Iranian women have walked in their pursuit of freedom and equality. Inspired by Maryam Rajavi, Forough Taghipour envisions a future free from oppression and injustice, reaffirming her unwavering belief in change and ultimate victory.
Forough Taghipour was released in February 2023 after serving three years in prison, only to be rearrested on August 21, 2023. On February 14, 2024, Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 15 years in prison.
Prison Could Not Shatter the Dream of Freedom
On the Occasion of International Women’s Day
I am Forough Taghipour, a 30-year-old graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Applied Science and Technology. To date, I have spent four years behind bars.
From childhood, the word “prison” was a familiar one to me. Even before I was born, my parents had each spent years—my father for ten, my mother for five—confined behind walls that, in my childhood imagination, were nothing but “endless darkness.” My uncle and two of my aunts were executed in their early thirties.
As I grew older, I increasingly felt the weight of contradictions—gender discrimination, unequal educational and employment opportunities, and the absence of even the most basic freedoms as a woman.
Years passed before I came to fully grasp the brutal repression inflicted upon dissidents, particularly members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), as well as the compounded oppression faced by the women of my homeland.
I realized that the women of my country are the only force capable of breaking these chains and unlocking the future.
And it was during this journey that I came to know the name of Maryam Rajavi. I sought to learn about her, to understand her ideas and vision—only to be astounded by the realization that what she spoke of was precisely what the Iranian people had been longing for.
For over a century, countless lives have been sacrificed in pursuit of this ideal, from Sattar Khan and Mirza Kuchak Khan to Mossadegh, Hanifnejad, and Jazani.
From Maryam, I learned how to stand firm in the face of hardship and to rise above fragility. As a leader, she taught me that one can and must overcome everything that seems impossible. She showed me that one cannot and must not exclude others with a negative outlook, nor claim superiority and push others to the margins. The only path forward is to fight and persevere with honesty and courage for equality and freedom.
Just a few days ago, when fragments of her speech on International Women’s Day reached me, I was once again struck with awe. How has she, through this extraordinary struggle, forged an enduring historical model for Iranian women?
How has she transformed the frontline of leading women in the longest, bloodiest, and most complex battle in Iran’s history into an unprecedented phenomenon—one unparalleled anywhere in the world?
How have they rebelled against the culture of female subjugation and powerlessness? How have they cultivated a collective force of unity—one in which every member is part of a single body, moving forward together, bound by shared purpose and agreement?
A collective born from the act of self-sacrifice for one another—this is how these women forged their unity. Through such an unbreakable bond, they harnessed the power of leadership, responsibility, and the strategic possibilities of struggle. They uncovered the principles of collective work, growing more unified and resolute with each passing day.
Now, I too have spent nearly five years behind bars, imprisoned solely for my beliefs. It seems that in the wretched lifespan of dictators, repetition has become a habit.
Though they seek to silence me, my voice and my demands resonate through Maryam’s words—an unwavering call against oppression and discrimination.
Throughout these years in prison, I have encountered a vast spectrum of unfortunate women from my country. Each of their sufferings became a force that strengthened my steps, propelling me forward with even greater resolve on the path to freedom.
I hear the voices of the pioneering women who endured imprisonment under both the Shah’s and the mullahs’ dictatorships, their names still etched on the walls of these prison cells. Women like Fatemeh Amini, Marzieh Ahmadi Oskouei, and Ashraf Rajavi—who cried out against tyranny—whose spilled blood now illuminates my path like a guiding light.
I take pride in the righteousness of this struggle, one that has flourished from their generation to mine, bearing ever more fruit with each passing era.
I was also heartened to hear that the comrades of that generation have reopened the case against Parviz Sabeti, a notorious torturer of SAVAK, for his crimes against prisoners—right here in Evin Prison. My martyred uncle was tortured by these same executioners during the Shah’s rule and later executed under the mullahs. As if the clerical regime merely completed what the Shah had left unfinished.
Indeed, the day of reckoning is near—the day when every last one of those who have robbed the people of their right to life will be held to account.
And now, after all these years, I know that even the darkest walls can be transformed into the boundless blue of the sea—just as free, just as fierce.
One can choose not to see the walls at all and instead be utterly immersed in the cause of Iran’s freedom.
Now, a new generation, inspired by Maryam, has risen—one that carries the torch of resistance to ever greater heights at every turn.
Forough Taghipour
Political prisoner, supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran
March 8, 2025