"Woman, Life, Freedom": collective female resistance in Iran

Abstract

This Honors Thesis examines the strategies of political activism leveraged by Iranian women during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement that has ravaged the Iranian political landscape since the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022. It starts with an analysis of the history of women's activism in Iran, then continues into a description of the political and cultural mechanisms that influence the status of Iranian women; then, it describes the most recent political and social movements in which Iranian women have participated in political activism in the twenty-first century. The body of the paper delves into the case of Jina Amini's death and the ensuing "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, examining the ways in which Iranian women lead the movement as political activists, including via street protests, student demonstrations, information and communications technology deployment, electoral boycotts, and reenactments. This Thesis argues that Iranian women have positioned themselves to continue to disrupt the status quo and threaten the power of the Iranian regime, underscoring the power of collective female resistance.