Iranian women’s struggle for freedom and democracy
a century old struggle

2007 marks the 30th anniversary of International Women's Day. Established in 1977 by the United Nations, this important day provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress made to advance women's rights and to assess the challenges that remain.
But in many countries including Iran the women are still struggling for their basic rights such as choice of clothing, traveling without a male chaperon and political oppression.
Iranian women have always been at war with fundamentalists ideologies. For the last 28 years the Iranian women who want to live in a democratic society have rose against the mullahs. In my country it is a crime to appear in public without a Hijab, it is a crime to have boyfriend, it is a crime to stand up to fundamentalist mullahs and say NO and simply it is a crime to be a woman. If women don’t obey these mullah- made laws they’ll be punished severely, punishments such as lashing in public, stoning to death, forcing to sign letters stating that they are prostitutes. The ruling theocracy has created a huge prison for all Iranians, especially for women. Iranians are living in the darkest times in their history. They are enduring economic hardship, unemployment and political oppression. Women on the other hand are having a harder time. Gender apartheid is the most visible cruelty they endure. For women who populate more than half Iran’s populations, opportunities are very low. Although more than 60 percent of university students are girls they only see a dark future ahead. As the poverty line grows the rate of prostitution and drug addiction among them rise up. Those women who are the main providers for their families are facing a choice every minute of their lives. In order to put food on the table or send their kids to school they have no choice but to sale their bodies to rich men who work for the government and if these women protest their fate will be like Attefe’s. She was hung when she was only 16 years old. The Iranian regime has took the control of sex industry in Iran and experts girls as young as 14 years old to neighboring countries and some European countries such as Germany. Some older girls are rejected and sent back to Iran because 18 considers too old.

Women in Iran though have not quitted. They continue their struggle for freedom and democracy. They organize peaceful rallies and they write and publish articles for the outside world to see. An action that is very risky for the writers for they could loose their lives or spend the rest of their lives in jail.
Women use every opportunity to show their hatred for the regime. The way they dress is a very good example. The mullah’s regime created a dress code for women to cover them up head to toe. They have to wear hijab or head scarf and cover their hair but young girls do not obey this ridiculous law. Their dress must be loose enough so that the shape of their bodies is not visible but their Monto becomes shorter and tighter.
Last year on International Women’s Day women gathered at Daneshju Park across from Tehran University in the Capital, to commemorate this day peacefully. They were singing and holding banners which some read: “discrimination against women is violation of human rights”. The police and the agents of regime’s intelligence services in police clothing and in civilian clothing attacked women’s peaceful rally beating and arresting tens of those brave women.
Last Saturday 15000 teachers gathered in front of regime’s parliament in Tehran demanding job security and their past due wages. They were back onto the streets yesterday with the same demands.

The Iranian people rely on the resistance movement. 4000 Iranians in Ashraf city in Iraq, one thousand of them women have been a source of hope for millions of Iranians. They
have been fighting with the fundamentalist regime in Iran for the past 28 years. Their goal is to overthrow the most vicious being on this earth. The Ashraf residents have been recognized as “persons protected under the 4th Geneva Convention”. Beside the fact that the Iranian regime is meddling in Iraqi affairs heavily by sending weapons and money to that country it’s also very active in influencing the Iraqi government in order to extradite the residence of Ashraf to Iran.
The Ashraf residents do not want to leave Iraq. They know and the mullahs know that Ashraf is the only barrier to halt the Iranian regime’s expert of terrorism and fundamentalism to Iraq.

The involvement of the Iranian regime in Iraqi affairs is so clear and obvious that there is no need to explain. Their goal is to sallow Iraq for breakfast and expert their so called “Islamic revolution” to that country as well. In the past 3 years the Ashraf residents’ mission has been to overcome all the unjust hardships they’ve endured, not only with the Iranian regime but the supporters of the appeasement policy as well. President elect of the NCRI, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi has said many times that the rise of violation of human rights in Iran is a direct result of the appeasement policy.
Today we are saying No to human rights abuses in Iran. We say no to war. we say no to nuclear weapon and strongly as ever we say no to the fundamental regime in Iran.
Long live Freedom, long live Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy and Down with the terrorist mullahs in Iran

Narges Ghaffari