Women Lead the Way in Iran

Posted by CODEPINK Staff

In case you missed it, the New York Times featured an Op-Ed piece last week celebrating the strength of women's voices in the movement in Iran - both in 1979 and now today.  An excerpt:

From Day 1, Iran’s women stood in the vanguard. Their voices from rooftops were loudest, and their defiance in the streets boldest. “Stand, don’t run,” Nazanine told me as the baton-wielding police charged up handsome Vali Asr avenue on the day after the fraudulent election. She stood.

...

A friend told me he no longer recognizes his wife. She’d been of the reluctantly acquiescent school. Now, “She’s a revolutionary.” I followed as she led us up onto the roof. The “death to the dictator” that surged from her into the night was of rare ferocity.

...

Women marched in 1979, too. But when the revolution was won, women were pushed out. Their subjugation became a pillar of the Islamic state. One woman told me that she had been 20 when she fought to oust the shah. “It’s simple,” she said. “We wanted freedom then, and we don’t have it now.”

We have watched in awe of the strength, courage, and bravery of the women in Iran who have taken to the streets, despite the threats of violence, to stand up for freedom, equality, and justice.   If you haven't already, please sign our letter to Nobel Peace Prize winner, human rights lawyer, and Iranian Shirin Ebadi.  You can also add a message of inspiration and solidarity to our sisters in Iran.