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The ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests – the situation going forward
This is undoubtedly a perilous time for progressive currents, including the women’s movement, in Iran, but it is for the Iranian people to decide their futures without outside interference, warns Dr AZAR SEPEHR

THIS YEAR, as progressives around the world prepare to mark International Women’s Day, the women of Iran do so on the back of a courageous and inspiring six-month long struggle — one in which they have led from the front — against the country’s ruling theocratic dictatorship.

The massive popular uprising in Iran that began in September 2022 has featured the country’s women at the very forefront.  

While the protests first centred on the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the so-called “guidance patrol” or “morality police” and the enforcement of mandatory hijab wearing, they quickly escalated to calls for an end to the entire authoritarian system of theocratic rule.

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