1-9-07, 9:44 p.m.
The women's liberation movement in Iran, with a full century of struggle behind it, continues to steadily and confidently forge its way ahead in Iranian society. Decades after the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, hundreds of periodicals and books, along with scores of web sites, web blogs, and women's columns in the print media, are challenging the anti-women regime of the Supreme Leader and all forms of patriarchal society.
Ours is a society with a several-thousand-year residue of patriarchal culture in the form of laws originating from the medieval period. Under the cover of tradition, this medieval residue, reinforced by religious decrees imposed by the regime, violates the rights of women in the most brutal way. However, the women's movement in Iran is actively campaigning to change the status quo and achieve equality, freedom and social justice.
The struggle of Iran's brave women for social equality and full civil, economic, and political rights, to eliminate gender and class oppression, is supported by two strong factors:
The achievements of the global women's movement and human rights organizations
Contemporary world developments provide a clear indication of the powerful global impact of the struggle of women to achieve political, economic and social equality. This is a struggle that has profoundly changed many countries and given women the right to vote and be elected, to work, to participate in political and social activities, and to defend family rights. It is a struggle which has opened the road to achieving full equality between women and men and liberation from gender and class oppression.
Occasions such as International Women's Day, International Labor Day, Human Rights Day, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, Universal Children's Day, the International Day of Peace, and World AIDS Day, are valuable achievements of the global movement of women and other progressive forces, and are opportunities to further strengthen the struggle against class and gender oppression by increasing the awareness of society.
The Century-Long Struggle of Iranian women
Since the first celebration of International Women's Day on March 8th and the first secret women's associations in Iran, about a century has passed. Women have now achieved the peaks of science and education (today 65% of Iranian students are female) and are actively imposing their presence in society. Women are today armed with scientific knowledge and awareness in their fight against intellectual darkness and oppression. This is a great achievement that promises future victories.
The fact that for the past 100 years Iranian women have had to struggle to achieve their demands under a series of despotic and reactionary regimes, whether of the Royal or Supreme Leader type, regimes that violently repress women and prevent the formation of political and other forms of organization, has led to a disastrous outcome. Today women still have the same demands on their agendas that they have had since the Constitutional Revolution of 1906! Even the popular revolution of 1978, in which women played a significant role, did not respond to the demands of women for equality and human rights. The theocratic regime that co-opted the revolution, by instituting the laws of Islam and suppressing the legal and civil achievements of women, as well as by introducing anti-women articles to the constitution, demoted women to second-class-citizen status. Today, as a result, women are one of the most oppressed sectors of Iranian society.
However, despite its ups and downs, the women's movement in Iran has never stopped progressing. The struggle has continued even under the most oppressive conditions. In the presidential elections of May, 1997 which elected the reformist Khatami and delivered a big NO to the Supreme Leader's candidate, women demonstrated their powerful presence and played a significant role in creating a more open political and social atmosphere. The women's movement has led to the formation of numerous trade and non-governmental organizations, the development of hundreds of social activists, and the emergence of numerous female writers, translators, poets, researchers, lawyers, and journalists.
The women's movement, however, has rightfully realized that the social presence of the elites of the movement, no matter how vast and powerful, without any connection to its social body, i.e. with the oppressed masses of women – and without awakening them, can be no more than an elite isolated from the people. They have learned the valuable lesson that no change in the anti-women laws can be achieved without the presence of the masses of Iranian women, nor can they be achieved through negotiations 'from above' and behind closed doors. This is why anti-women reactionaries are trying to prevent any connection between movement activists and the movement’s body, by not issuing permits for gatherings, filtering women's web sites, etc. The regime is desperately making every effort to suppress or intimidate the women's movement, along with the labor movement, students, and other progressive forces.The Supreme Leader's regime has intensified this effort by bringing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.
Today, in the harsh environment that exists in our country, women are taking advantage of various forms of organizing to awaken the masses. Celebrating International Women’s Day is one way to publicize gender and class oppression issues. Another form of struggle is organizing various campaigns such as:
1. The campaign for the presence of women in public sports stadiums – a symbolic effort to eliminate the atmosphere of gender separation;
2. The campaign to gather signatures against stoning and execution by hanging, in which more than 40 lawyers are active;
3. The One Million Signature campaign against discriminatory laws, which started about 3 months ago. The petition states: 'Undoubtedly, the women of the lower classes of society, or those who belong to religious or ethnic minorities, suffer more from discriminatory laws. Iran's government is signatory to international declarations of human rights and is committed to implement their regulations. The most important factor in human rights is to not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity, or creed. We, the undersigned, demand elimination of discrimination against women in the laws of country, and call upon the legislators to review and reform the laws according to the country’s international commitments.'
We in the Tudeh Party, like the women's liberation movement, deeply believe that by means of the relentless effort and struggle of women, along with other progressive forces, the liberation of women is possible, and that a world can be built based upon freedom, equality, peace and social justice for all, men and women. Supporting the heroic struggle of Iranian women and echoing their righteous voice in society and world public opinion is an important and urgent task for all progressive forces.
(Abridged From 'Nameh Mardom,' Central Organ of the Tudeh Party of Iran, No. 756, December 12, 2006)
