“Woman, Life, Freedom” Uprising sparked social revolution in E.Kurdistan, Iran

Throughout Iran’s history, successive regimes have pursued policies hostile to women. Although limited reforms concerning women’s rights were introduced under the Pahlavi monarchy, following the rise of the clerical regime, women’s rights were stripped away through oppression, violence, and unjust rulings. Kurdish and Iranian women resisted torture, gender-based discrimination, executions, and harsh punishments in many forms — and continue their struggle to this day.

Kurdish women in Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) have long been at the forefront of resistance, drawing upon  leader Abdullah Ocalan’s philosophy of “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” (“Woman, Life, Freedom”) as their ideological foundation. The leader first articulated this concept in 1988, and women’s movements in Kurdistan organized themselves around it.

Even before the killing of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, this slogan carried meaning in women’s struggles. Kurdish activist Shirin Alamhouli, executed by the Iranian regime in May 2010, had already inscribed “Woman, Life, Freedom” on the walls of her prison cell in Tehran’s Evin Prison, making the phrase a rallying cry for women’s resistance.

When Jina Amini (22) was tortured by the “morality police” on 13 September 2022 and died three days later, the slogan became the symbol of a nationwide uprising. At her funeral in Saqqez, as thousands gathered, chants of “Woman, Life, Freedom” ignited a mass movement. The slogan soon spread globally, from the United States to Europe, from India to Afghanistan, becoming a universal emblem of women’s resistance.

The uprising was not confined to Kurdish women alone; Persians, Arabs, and Baluchis also joined, transforming the protests into the most significant revolutionary movement in Iran in recent decades. Demonstrations spread across 31 provinces and over 100 cities, with chants of “Freedom or Freedom,” “Death to the Dictator,” and “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Hawjin Beqali, a social and women’s rights activist from Eastern Kurdistan, emphasized in an interview with ANHA Agency: “These uprisings did not simply begin with Jina Amini’s death. They are the product of women’s struggle since 1946. This is not merely a revolt against compulsory veiling, but a revolution for women’s very existence, their rights, and gender equality.”

The uprising was not only about rejecting the veil, but about securing political, economic, and social rights for all peoples. Women became leaders of the movement — their uncovered hair transformed into a banner of defiance, and the collective burning of headscarves shattered the symbols of authority. Streets, villages, cities, schools, and universities turned into arenas of resistance.

The regime retaliated with brutal violence. The people of Eastern Kurdistan and Iran paid a grave price — but they have not abandoned the path of resistance.

According to human rights organizations in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran, regime forces killed at least 573 protesters — the majority in Kurdistan, Baluchistan, and Tehran — and arrested no fewer than 65,000 people. In addition to those detained during the protests, thousands more were arrested between 2022 and 2023. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network documented the names of 1,761 Kurds among those detained. Execution figures reached 582 in 2022 and 834 in 2023.

In 2024 alone, at least 474 Kurdish civilians and activists were arrested in Eastern Kurdistan, while 975 people were executed across Iran. Since the beginning of 2025, no fewer than 514 Kurds have been detained, and 756 people executed nationwide.

Following the uprising, the regime also targeted schoolgirls, launching chemical gas attacks in cities across Eastern Kurdistan and Iran. Hundreds of children were poisoned and hospitalized. Families of those killed or disappeared faced harassment, detention, and intimidation when they sought justice.

Currently, Kurdish women activists and journalists — including Bakhshan Azizi, Zeynab Jalalian, and Wirisha Moradi — remain imprisoned under death sentences in Iran. In protest, women across Kurdistan and Europe continue organizing actions to halt executions. Inside Iranian prisons, female political prisoners have launched hunger strikes against torture, execution orders, and denial of rights.

On 16 May 2024, journalist and activist Bakhshan Azizi began a hunger strike. On 1 October 2024, coordinated strikes spread across multiple prisons including Evin, Ghezel Hesar, Karaj Central, Greater Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan, Bam, Mashhad, Rasht, Qaemshahr, Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, Salmas, Khoy, Naqadeh, Saqqez, Baneh, Mariwan, Kamyaran, and Arak. On 11 October 2024, Wirisha Moradi joined the strikes. On 8 February 2025, death-row prisoner Rezgar Baghzada Baba Miri also began a hunger strike. On 24 September 2024, 47 female detainees in Evin Prison staged a collective hunger strike. Resistance inside prisons continues to this day.

On 13 September 2023, crowds gathered at Jina Amini’s grave, and in her hometown of Saqqez, all shops closed in solidarity. On 16 September, marking the first anniversary of her killing, general strikes swept through Saqqez, Sanandaj, Diwandar, Mariwan, Bukan, Baneh, Kamyaran, Kermanshah, Urmia, and Mahabad, paralyzing public life.

In the years that followed (2023–2025), the fire of Newroz only grew stronger, and each celebration has become “the Newroz of Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Reflecting on the impact of the uprising, activist Hawjin Beqali stated: “A social revolution erupted in Eastern Kurdistan. Men now feel ashamed to say women’s rights are inferior. Women speak openly about their identity, their intellectual autonomy, and their bodily integrity.”

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ANHA