Dozens of Women's, Labor, and Civil Activists: The Islamic Republic Should Be Boycotted as a Gender Apartheid Regime

More than 40 women’s rights activists and civil society activists, along with several student organizations, issued a statement on the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8, calling on all governments worldwide to boycott the Islamic Republic as a "gender apartheid regime." According to the website "Women’s Revolution," the signatories emphasized that "the Islamic Republic has no legitimacy as a woman-killing regime inside Iran, and their demand from the international community is to delegitimize this regime." The statement referred to the 45-year struggle against hijab and chastity laws and the Islamic regime, stating: "International Women’s Day arrives at a time when the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution, which began after the government murder of Mahsa/Jina Amini, has dealt heavy blows to the foundations of the Islamic regime, particularly against the hijab, and as evidenced by the ongoing campaign for 'unveiling' across various levels of society, the hijab stronghold has been lost to the government." Following last year's protests, many images and videos were shared on social media or reached Voice of America, showcasing girls and women's opposition to the mandatory hijab imposed by the Islamic Republic. However, Amnesty International reported this week that Islamic Republic officials are launching a widespread campaign to enforce oppressive hijab laws through extensive surveillance of women and girls in public places. Amnesty International stated that the Islamic Republic officials are attempting to eliminate resistance to mandatory hijab following the nationwide protests of "Women, Life, Freedom," trying to instill fear in women and girls. Meanwhile, the activists and signatories of the statement noted the resilience of Iranian women against the imposition of mandatory hijab, with the support of equality-seeking and freedom-loving men. They added: "The Woman, Life, Freedom revolution is the manifestation of a new women’s liberation movement that took shape on March 8, 1979, for the liberation of women and society against hijab and Islamic laws, planting the seed of the robust women’s revolution in Iran, and in 2022, standing up against a regime that has attacked women and society with hijab and is willing to kill Mahsa/Jina to preserve hijab and Islamic values." The statement also mentioned the murder of several girls and women, direct shootings to their eyes and sexual organs, public rapes, and heavy prison sentences or expulsion from educational and work environments, adding that the government has made every effort to suppress the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution by attacking women, who are the driving forces behind this revolution. However, the signatories believe that because the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution is alive and ongoing in various forms within the deep layers of Iranian society, "the government and other forces, such as Islamic feminists emerging from the reformist movement, have failed in their attempts to impose reactionary values." The statement emphasized that "with the occurrence of the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution, it is referred to as the first 'women’s revolution' in the history of humanity, inspiring the struggle of women in Afghanistan against the Taliban and in other Islamic-affected countries in the Middle East against Islamic movements." The signatories wrote in another section: "Iranian society, with women at the forefront from Tehran to Kurdistan, Baluchistan, Khuzestan, Azerbaijan, and all over Iran, is engaged in continuous daily struggles against the regime’s agents regarding mandatory hijab, for the dignity and respect of women, for progressive women’s demands, against oppression, torture, rape, imprisonment, execution, exploitation, and slavery, for a prosperous, happy, free, equal, and secular society for all, playing a significant role in the continuation of the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution from the streets to prisons." They referred to the women’s ward in Evin prison as the frontline against the Islamic Republic and added that they will strive to protect the significant and historic achievements of the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution, which has taken the stronghold of hijab, and to further expand and solidify the nationwide unveiling across various levels of society from streets to universities and schools. The signatories pointed out: "To conquer the next strongholds such as gender segregation, which has been a legal tool for pitting women against men since the Islamic regime came to power and has laid the groundwork for numerous rights violations for half of society, we must firmly support the unceasing struggles of students." The website Women’s Revolution noted that Rahila Ahmadi, Azmat Azdari, Saba Alaleh, Ladan Bazargan, Kokab Badaghi Pega, Fariba Borhan-Zahi, Nasrat Beheshti, Shoaleh Pakrovan, Mahsa Pirayi, Banafsha Jamali, Azadeh Davachi, Melika Zar, Sara Siyahpour, Shirin Shams, Joanna Timisi, Soheil Arabi, Bayan Azimi, Mahbubeh Farahzadi, Mojgan Keshavarz, Maria Mahmoudi, Rada Mardani, Sooran Mansournia, Mehdi Mousavi, Pouran Nazemi, and Mahshid Nazemi have signed the statement. The Progressive Students Organization, the Freedom-Loving Institute of North Tehran University, the Free Thinkers Organization of Jondi Shapur, the Union of Students of Alzahra University, the Institute of Students of Islamic Azad University of Isfahan, the Union of Students of Isfahan University of Technology, and the Association of Freedom-Loving Students of Beheshti University are among the signatories of the statement.