Zahra Rahnavard: The 'National Accord Cabinet' Must Recognize Equal Rights for All Citizens of Iran

Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi and a leader of the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, emphasized that national accord necessitates 'recognition of equal rights for all citizens and their effective participation' in the fate of Iran, particularly highlighting the 'rights of women.' This political activist, who has been under house arrest with her husband for about 15 years, stated in a letter titled 'Which National Accord Cabinet' that 'victory without the recognition of women's rights and the elimination of gender gaps, and without removing barriers to justice and equality between men and women' would be meaningless. In this letter, published on Thursday, September 8, she mentioned fundamental actions such as 'the release of political prisoners, especially dozens of proud women prisoners, the abolition of the arbitrary compulsory hijab law and its notorious apparatus across the country,' and 'the drafting and implementation of civil, political, and social laws regarding women's rights' as essential for the credibility of the 'National Accord Cabinet.' She referred to the formation of the fourteenth government, which is referred to as the 'National Accord Cabinet' in the Islamic Republic, and reminded that 'the repression and deprivation of women from human rights, freedom, justice, and choice in their fate and private lives, as well as political and social participation, remain unchanged.' Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, who appointed his cabinet members with the 'approval and emphasis' of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, refers to his government as the 'National Accord Cabinet.' In part of her letter, Zahra Rahnavard wrote: 'The regime, after the Green Movement in 2009 and following the Mahsa Jina Amini movement in 2022, has launched a Mongol-like assault on the dignity and status of women, and under the pretext of compulsory hijab, which is in fact a symbol of the regime's despotism, has gone so far as to blind and mutilate the body of an innocent mother, giving a new face to the repression of women.' This political activist noted the increasing 'gap between the regime and women' and emphasized that 'the demands and aspirations for equality from women, due to their freedom-seeking and justice-seeking virtues, encompass the demands of other people and various groups such as journalists, workers, students, teachers, and other builders of the culture and civilization of nation-states.' Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi, like many political prisoners in Iran, abstained from the government voting to determine a successor to Ebrahim Raisi. Zahra Rahnavard described the compulsory hijab in Iran as a 'dictatorial order' and 'fabricated.' She stated, 'The response to women's quest for freedom is not bullets.' There have been criminal charges against Baran Kowsari and Rokhsareh Bani-Etemad for not wearing the compulsory hijab. Civil activists have warned about the 'inhumane condition' of female prisoners, noting that the situation for non-political prisoners is even worse. Zahra Mousavi, the daughter of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, was expelled from university.