Women’s Rights Movements: Vanguard for Social Change in Iran, Iraq, and Kurdistan
/By Samuel Howell, AIC Research Associate
In 2022, the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini in Tehran created a chain reaction of social unrest that culminated in months of widespread protests in Iran. These protests championed a number of causes, including improved economic conditions, the removal of certain government leaders, and, above all, equality and justice for women. Results of these demands have been mixed: while they have inspired many women to act in solidarity and refuse to obey the laws that control their personal lives, no official government policies have changed.
With this in mind, it is a good time now to reflect, not just on the most recent protests that made news in the West, but on a much broader history of the fight for women’s rights in Iran, neighboring Iraq, and the regions of Kurdish territory within their borders. While these places have been at odds with each other for much of recent history, the story of their efforts regarding women’s rights share similar foundations and headwinds within the broader struggle for social change. This article will focus on recent women's rights developments within Iran, Iraq, and Kurdistan, what their struggles mean for the progress of the region, and the international implications of these events.
Iran
Iran’s history of women’s rights in the past century is divided roughly into two periods. From the rule of Reza Shah until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women’s rights ebbed and flowed with the tide of politics and public support. Before WWII, some symbolic measures were taken, such as the forced unveiling of women under Reza Shah, which also faced backlash from women who wished to remain devout in their faith. In the 1950s and 60s, under Mohammad Reza Shah, women’s political activity grew with the formation of women’s organizations like the Women’s Organization of Iran, and the obtaining of more legal rights such as suffrage. But since the 1979 Revolution, the role of women in society changed to a more islamic focus with women being required to obey Islamic laws, including restrictions on clothing, travel, and marriage. Discrimination is also fairly common, negatively affecting women’s economic opportunities and legal rights; not to mention recurring violence against women. Rural women are especially jeopardized due to how discrimination can affect their already limited access to healthcare, financial resources, and education.
Despite institutional challenges, Iranian women have pushed to gain more rights over the past forty-five years. Although limited in scope and subject to changes in government, the Islamic Republic has passed laws to improve family planning, education, workforce involvement, and political participation. Iranian women have also been afforded rights that other Middle Eastern countries have not allowed, such as being able to drive cars, receive a high level of education, and hold employment in important fields such as government, health, and technology. Yet significant challenges still remain in the form of discriminatory laws and professional practices, which many Iranian women have dedicated themselves to repealing through periodic protest movements. The 2009 One Million Signatures, 2014 My Stealthy Freedom, 2018 Girls of Revolution Street, and the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom campaigns are the most recent examples. Thousands of female and male protesters have participated in these movements, though much of the western world only recently became aware of their struggles in the latest campaign, which was bolstered by the prevalent use of social media.
While protests have led to some changes over the years, there is a sense that momentum is declining. The desolate economic situation in Iran is leading to a decline in the middle class, which has been the most politically and socially active group in Iran. There are also certain segments of society that remain strongly conservative and seek to maintain the status quo, with some women also working against women’s movements in Iran by joining government organizations like the Sister’s Basij. Additionally, a lack of coordination and centralization in Iran’s women's movements caused as a result of government opposition to civil protest, has greatly hindered the achievement of stated protest goals, showing that there is still a long road ahead.
Iraq
Iraq’s history of women’s rights has several areas of overlap with Iran’s. The situation of Iraqi women today is vastly different from how it was before its last government was toppled. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq supported the advancement of women to an extent, which was contrary to the norm of most Middle Eastern states. Women held the right to vote, own property, and run for office, along with a suite of labor rights such as equal pay to men and maternity leave. The best advantages were in education, as the vast majority of women received at least a basic, yet strongly government curated education. Yet after the US-led invasion in 2003, the situation for women began to rapidly deteriorate. Conservative and religious groups were able to gain more power in the chaos that unfolded during and after the invasion, often pushing for more conservative laws to the detriment of women’s rights. Violence against women has also become a serious problem, with one-third of women expected to experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes. Then in 2014, ISIS presented itself as another potent problem, exacting a heavy toll on the women that lived within the 40% of Iraqi territory that it controlled.
Despite these challenges, just as in Iran, Iraqi women have tried their best to push publicly for equal rights. The mobilization of women in favor of women’s rights has increased over the past decade, and a multitude of women’s organizations are involved in advocacy. Women have also participated in protest movements, both in support of women’s rights and other broad social issues such as corruption and violence. Protests usually face harsh pushback from the government, and even female parliamentarians are not always keen to lend a hand, sticking to partisan or religious lines instead of confronting women’s issues. Yet women activists have continued to adapt to these challenges, and have even been influenced by women’s rights movements in Iran. The Women, Life, Freedom protests in Iran reignited debates surrounding the role of Islam in Iraq, and veiling in particular. Although it is key not to overstress this connection, especially due to complexities and grievances in the relationship between Iraq and Iran, it does provide some insight into how women’s movements in the region can affect one another despite societal differences.
The Kurds
The circumstances of women in the Kurdish regions of Iran (Kurdistan, Kermanshah & West Azerbaijan provinces) and Iraq (Kurdish Autonomous Region) are a world apart from their non-kurdish counterparts. While the Kurds are recognized as citizens of the countries in which they live, their identity as Kurds makes their experiences different from others in Iraq and Iran, which are majority Arab and Persian respectively. Violence and discriminatory policies have been used by the Iranian government to oppress and isolate the Kurdish population. Such policies include limits to Kurdish civic and religious practices, and blocking access to educational and economic opportunities in the name of avoiding ‘separatist’ resistance. While Iraq has given the Kurds their own autonomous region, they have faced political and economic disputes with the government of Iraq. Kurdish officials have also lost legitimacy due to political infighting, a lack of economic opportunities, and the limiting of individual freedoms. Both Iranian and Iraqi Kurds have also become involved in campaigns to pursue increased autonomy, national independence, and defense against oppression, which has forced ideas of women’s rights to become secondary to national and tribal struggles.
The unique problems faced by the Kurds due to their identity adds to the violence, discrimination, and lack of opportunities faced by Kurdish women. An example of this can be observed from the Women, Life, Freedom campaign in Iran, which notably began after the death of Jina Amini, who was a Kurdish woman. Many of the first protests to arise came from Amini’s birthplace in the Kurdistan province of Iran to oppose the oppression of both women and Kurds. During the following months, the Iranian government used exceptional violence against protestors in the three Kurdish majority regions of Iran, and with an intensity seldom seen in other parts of the country. As the protests swelled into a nationwide movement, the slogan Women, Life, Freedom was adopted because of its Kurdish roots in the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) of Turkey. While most analysts have discussed the protest movement in terms of women’s rights and government oppression, the protests would not have been possible without the fervor and determination of Kurdish women in particular to bring their unique issues to light.
A Connected Struggle
The women of Iraq, Iran, and Kurdistan all seek to improve the opportunities, rights, and treatment afforded to women in their respective countries or regions. But as we have discussed, it would be a mistake to believe that these movements are completely self-contained within their borders. To begin, the Women, Life, Freedom movement was an Iranian and Iranian-Kurdish campaign, but that did not stop women in Iraq from taking inspiration to reignite debates about their own country’s laws on women and religious dress codes. In the same case, the border itself became less defined as the presence of exiled Kurdish resistance groups opposed to the Iranian government provided Iran an excuse to attack over the Iraqi border, while framing it as a matter of national security. Meanwhile, both Iranian and Iranian-Kurdish women fleeing prosecution crossed the border into Iraq, and joined the same Kurdish resistance groups to fight against the Iranian government.
Women’s rights also intersect regularly with other social issues. The freedom of women to express themselves ties into the broader struggle for individual freedoms in the face of oppression; women’s protests against gender segregation are a part of protests for democracy and anti-corruption within the government; and issues involving violence against women stem from inadequate national justice systems and policy creation. Yet the struggle for women’s rights has stood out within these movements and served as a vanguard for protests and debates. Few other issues in Iraq and Iran have led citizens to conduct massive protests in hundreds of cities, or driven them to cross borders and live as armed rebels. And in recent years, when their governments have had to send waves of police and troops to quell unrest, women’s rights have more often than not played a part in forcing their hand.
An International Perspective
To gain a full understanding of women’s movements in Iran and Iraq, the contributions and reactions towards women’s empowerment demonstrated by state governments, international government agencies and NGOs must also be considered. Multiple UN agencies, including UNHCR, UN Women, UNFPR, and OHCHR have produced countless reports and directives oriented towards highlighting the condition of women in Iran, Iraq, and Kurdistan. Government agencies and international organizations such as USAID, the EU, and the UK Foreign Secretary established many projects, funds, and aid initiatives to support the advancement of women in society. They have also sanctioned governments and individuals associated with women’s rights violations. Furthermore, dozens of NGOs dedicated to supporting women’s rights in Iran, Iraq, and Kurdistan have gone through great lengths to provide aid within the region and disseminate information to the international community.
It should be noted, however, that due to the complications of geopolitics, decreasing attention to the Middle East, and existing travel restrictions to these countries, the will and ability of the international community to positively impact these women has greatly fluctuated. The US and EU have mainly been focused on geopolitics, counterterrorism, and military matters within the Middle East, restricting resources available for attention to human rights and development. Consequently, their attention to women’s rights has been mostly symbolic, and lacks a firm policy commitment to provide direction for resources and assistance. Additionally, many responses to women’s rights violations continue to have a geopolitical focus that lacks support for women’s organizations. The UK House of Commons’ and US House of Representatives’ responses to the Women, Life, Freedom movement, for example, internationally condemned Iran and called for sanctions on Iranian officials, yet did not directly support the attainment of rights for women.
If the situation of women is to improve in accordance with international recognition of the importance of women’s rights, then holistic, meticulous, and sustained efforts must be made by international organizations and governments to aid women’s advancement across Iran and Iraq. Rhetoric and pledges are not enough; instead, long-term increases in funding for regional women’s organizations and providing support for efforts to strengthen civil society are needed. A successful model is USAID’s recent work with women's organizations in southern Iraq to address issues in education, climate, and government. Enabling initiatives to have broader impact and continuous interaction with those that they aim to help can drive lasting change. When the next women’s movement shakes the region – and there will be one – the international community should be ready to assist and ensure that their commitments to human rights do not ring hollow.
