Iranian women keep hope alive with daily acts of resistance

Three years ago, protests erupted across Iran after the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested by the morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.

The Islamic Republic cracked down harshly on these protests, driving the Woman, Life, Freedom movement underground. Yet, Iranian women continue to resist in various ways every day, keeping the spirit of the movement alive.

I conducted interviews with Iranian women – both inside Iran and in Australia – as part of my research on women in peace-building. My research highlighted the numerous obstacles faced by these women, including economic hardship, insecurity, political barriers and increasing government control over their lives. Together, we created future visions of what Iran could become.

Despite their hardships, some women maintained hope, seeing themselves capable of making small but meaningful change.

Women, Life, Freedom as daily resistance

Days after Amini’s death in September 2022, Iranian women flooded the streets in more than 160 cities across Iran, demonstrating against gender-based discrimination, economic disparities and state violence against civilians. The Iranian diaspora also took part in solidarity protests, with more than 80,000 people marching in Berlin on one day alone.

The protests inside Iran were met with brutal suppression. According to a United Nations fact-finding mission, an estimated 60,000 people were arrested and 550 people were killed. Facial recognition technology and traffic cameras were used to track down women who refused to wear the hijab in public.

To date, the Islamic Republic continues to suppress any dissent through the use of sexual violence, capital punishment, arbitrary arrests, surveillance of public spaces and sham trials.

Prominent activists and students have been arrested or forced into exile at an alarmingly high rate, especially since the Iran-Israel war earlier this year.

In such an environment, an effective political opposition hasn’t mobilised. As an Iranian woman in Australia told me:

At first, I was very angry and heartbroken when the opposition coalition failed. So many young people have died for change over the years. But I keep telling myself that no one taught us how to form coalitions or live in a society inclusive of plural opinions.

Alternative spaces and creative dissent

But daily resistance continues, and now takes many forms. In many cities in Iran, women no longer wear the mandatory hijab and boycott businesses that require it.

A 30-year-old woman from Isfahan said:

My daughter was born in 2023. How can I continue to live this double life now that I am a mother? Even though Isfahan is a religious city, I no longer wear the scarf [hijab]. When my daughter grows up, I want her to see me and my true beliefs as her role model: a strong and free mother.

Iranian women are also trying to support women-owned home businesses as a way of trying to alleviate poverty among women.

Others document harassment of women by the morality police, and even live-track the presence of officers using apps such as Gershad (morality police tracker) and platforms such as HarassWatch.

The use of social media platforms has been key to the continuation of the movement. These spaces provide opportunities for women to debate ideas and raise awareness of issues.

One prominent social media campaign, #StopHonourKillings, has been instrumental in raising awareness of femicide in Iran.

In response, the government has increased its online surveillance and targeted women activists with large social media followings with court summons, account suspensions and phishing and cyber attacks. The government has also enforced temporary nationwide internet shutdowns.

Singing and dancing have also emerged as a form of resistance. These activities are forbidden for women in front of men and in public, but many women flout the rules, courting arrest.

Last December, the Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and her band live-streamed themselves performing several songs on YouTube without a permit – or her wearing a hijab. Afterwards, she was arrested and briefly detained. Ahmadi said of the concert:

This is a right I couldn’t overlook: singing for the land I deeply adore.

Supporting women from the diaspora

Iranians in the diaspora face threats, too. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has harassed journalists, politicians and ordinary Iranians in many countries.

Such activities recently led to the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador from Australia.

Yet, many in the diaspora continue to amplify the voices of Iranian women. They have written to politicians, established solidarity groups, organised rallies and fundraisers, published articles and created protest artworks.

One of my interviewees in Melbourne said:

Back home we didn’t know about the process of writing to our Parliament member for accountability. We were discouraged from forming any kind of collective that could be identified as political. It was too risky. I learned everything from scratch here.

Some days, I don’t know how effective it will be. But I remind myself that in Iran people are looking at us and expecting us to use our freedom.

Business owners in the diaspora are also employing women freelancers inside Iran to help them support themselves and their families. A woman business owner who lived between Belgium and Iran shared her experience of employing and mentoring young Iranian women:

If I can’t pay my employee immediately or directly in Iran, I will purchase subscriptions for them instead (such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, Adobe or Grammarly). Some of them need these subscriptions for their work, but can’t purchase them easily inside Iran.

For Iranian women inside and outside Iran, life will not go back to the way it was before the Women, Life, Freedom movement began.

As a women’s rights activist from Uroomieh, Iran, told me:

We know we can’t go back. If the government tries to ban us from public life by preventing legal protection against us in the parliament, we will find ways to resist.