Reactions of Plaintiffs and Activists on International Women's Day; Gohar Eshghi: The Regime of Ali Khamenei is the Enemy of Iranian Women

A number of political and civil activists and opponents of the Islamic Republic government congratulated Iranian women on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8 and condemned the actions of the Islamic Republic in suppressing women. Mojgan Etekhari, the mother of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, in an Instagram story congratulated this day to "all the lion-hearted women of my land" and said: "The name and memory of my radiant Zhina (Mahsa) gives me the courage to be a woman." Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's father, also congratulated "International Women's Day to all the equality-seeking women of my land who demand to live freely and with dignity, and have always shown this will and desire, especially in defending the martyr Zhina." Gohar Eshghi, mother of the slain worker and blogger Sattar Beheshti, in a message congratulated "the brave women of Iran" on International Women's Day and reminded that "the regime of Ali Khamenei is the enemy of Iranian women." Ms. Eshghi further stated that Iranian women and girls have become aware and do not care about the Islamic Republic. The Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752 congratulated March 8 on social media X (formerly Twitter) to "all the women of the world, especially the brave women of Iran and Afghanistan"; women who, according to this association, "despite all efforts to marginalize them, have broken barriers and fought against discrimination despite arrests, torture, harassment, and imprisonment." Hamed Esmaeilioun, whose wife and daughter were killed in the IRGC's shooting of Flight PS752, referred to International Women's Day as "the day of life and freedom" and added that this day is a reminder of "all the brave and fighting Iranian women who struggle against discrimination and for equality and justice." Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2003, in an Instagram message referred to the "double oppression" against women and said: "The world in which being a woman is a sufficient reason for suffering must be transformed." She further stated that the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement was the most valuable achievement of years of struggle by women for freedom and equality. She mentioned all imprisoned women, including Narges Mohammadi, Sepideh Gholian, Fatemeh Sepahri, Sharifeh Mohammadi, Zeynab Jalalian, and women whose names are not heard in the media but pay heavy costs in the path of struggle, as well as the mothers of the victims over 45 years of the "inhuman" rule of the Islamic Republic. Masih Alinejad, a journalist and human rights activist, shared a message about the struggles of Iranian women against the restrictions of the Islamic Republic, stating: "History will not forget these women." According to her, Iranian women "have bravely and consciously stood against those who are as savage and ruthless as ISIS and as ignorant and fanatical as the Taliban." Ms. Alinejad addressed the authorities of the Islamic Republic, saying: "These women will break down the Berlin Wall of the Islamic Republic and will not stop fighting until the day of the overthrow of an apartheid regime, and will bury the government of oppression and tyranny in history with the help of all citizens of this land." Various professional associations in Iran had previously issued statements on the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, stating that women are at the forefront of struggles in Iran, referring to the protests of 2022 known as the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement.