Woman, life, freedom: Women initiated a collective awareness for resistance in Iran
by Homa Bazafkan
Iran’s recent protests cannot be understood without centering women – not as symbols of resistance, but as the historical force that made today’s moment possible. Long before the current economic collapse, the fall of the national currency, or the emergence of visible political figures, Iranian women had already sustained a continuous, everyday struggle against a system built on controlling their bodies, voices, and futures. What is unfolding today is not a sudden eruption, nor a purely economic revolt, but the outcome of a deep transformation in political consciousness that began with women and gradually expanded across society.
From the earliest days of the Islamic Republic, women recognized that authoritarian rule in Iran would be enforced through their subjugation. Only weeks after the 1979 revolution, women protested in the streets against compulsory hijab, rejecting the regime’s attempt to anchor political legitimacy in the regulation of female bodies. Although these protests were violently suppressed and erased from official narratives, they established a foundational truth that has shaped resistance ever since: control over women is not a side issue, but the ideological core of the system. Over the following decades, women’s resistance never ceased. It moved into everyday life, turning dress, movement, education, work, and relationships into sites of political struggle. For Iranian women, protest was never episodic; it was continuous, embodied, and costly.
This continuity explains why women’s role cannot be assessed solely through the visibility of street protests at any given moment. Previous movements – the Green Movement of 2009 or the mass protests of 2019 – mobilized large numbers of people and revealed deep public anger, yet they did not fundamentally alter the symbolic order of power. Women were present, but society as a whole had not yet crossed the threshold where fear was broken and obedience lost its inevitability.
That threshold was crossed in 2022. The uprising following the killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini marked a turning point not because it immediately changed the regime, but because it changed society. Woman, Life, Freedom was not merely a slogan or a thematic focus of protest; it was a political rupture that dismantled silence and normalized resistance. It illuminated what had long been endured privately and made it speakable publicly. Through women’s bodies, visibility, and refusal, fear was exposed as fragile. A silent population found its voice, and a new generation learned that dignity could be defended collectively. This was the revolution that reshaped Iran’s political imagination.
The significance of Woman, Life, Freedom lies precisely in the fact that it did not remain confined to feminist protest alone. It generated courage that exceeded its original frame. It did not dictate a single political ideology or future model of governance; instead, it created the psychological conditions necessary for society to act. The current protests must be understood as the consequence of this transformation, not its replacement.
When protests intensified again amid rapid economic collapse, inflation, and the dramatic devaluation of the currency, they emerged fundamentally from within society itself. These protests were driven by people who lived reality, the desire for a normal life, for dignity, security, and freedom that had been systematically taken away by the clerical regime. They did not originate from a single political camp, ideological program, or organizational structure. Rather, they were born from the collective exhaustion of a population whose future had been confiscated.
What distinguishes this phase of protest is the breadth of participation and the suspension, however temporary, of ideological division. People from different political orientations, generations, religious backgrounds, and social positions stepped into the streets not to promote a unified political doctrine, but to assert a shared refusal of the status quo. The demand was simple yet profound: a free Iran and a livable future. In this sense, the protests were not about agreement on the past, but about reclaiming the future.
A significant turning point in this mobilization came following public statements by Reza Pahlavi. While he is not accepted by all segments of society and does not represent a universal political consensus, his announcement functioned as a catalyst rather than a command. It accelerated an already unfolding dynamic. For many, it symbolized the possibility of coordination and visibility at a moment when society was searching for signals of momentum. Importantly, the protests that followed were not expressions of loyalty to a single figure. Instead, they revealed something far more politically significant: a collective willingness to put ideological differences aside in favor of mass mobilization.
In the streets, people acted in a rare moment of hegemony beyond politics, religion, gender, and identity. These scenes of solidarity, mutual protection, shared risk, and collective presence – were among the most powerful expressions of hope seen in recent years. They demonstrated that Iranian society could mobilize itself not through exclusion, but through convergence. This unity was not uniformity; it was coordination rooted in shared urgency.
The regime understood the danger of this moment immediately. Its response was swift and brutal. Protesters were aggressively suppressed, accused of being foreign agents or collaborators with Mossad—an accusation long used to strip citizens of humanity and legitimize killing. This narrative provided ideological cover for lethal force, mass arrests, and the suspension of basic civil life. What followed was not crowd control, but the systematic dismantling of social space.
Unofficial reports from inside Iran suggest that the scale of violence may be far greater than publicly acknowledged, with some sources speaking of death tolls reaching into the tens of thousands. These figures cannot be independently verified, and the exact number of those killed may never be known. What is certain is that the regime has deliberately made counting the dead impossible. Many injured protesters avoided hospitals entirely, knowing that medical centers are controlled by security forces and the Revolutionary Guards. Seeking treatment has become a risk that can lead directly to arrest or disappearance. Countless wounded were treated in private homes or not treated at all, leaving no official trace.
The near-total internet shutdown has further obscured reality. Cities have been isolated from one another and from the outside world. While a small number of people reportedly retain access to satellite internet, they do so under constant threat of death. Jamming and interference signals have reportedly been deployed to block satellite connections, turning communication itself into an act of defiance.
An undeclared martial law now governs daily life. People are allowed on the streets only until mid-afternoon. Visiting relatives, driving, or transporting sick family members to doctors can result in arrest. Social interaction has been criminalized. This is not simply repression of protest; it is an attempt to dismantle the social fabric that enables collective action.
Women have been targeted with particular intensity. Arrests, solitary confinement, and threats of sexual violence are part of a long-standing pattern of gendered repression aimed at breaking resistance by reasserting control over women’s bodies. Yet women remain central – not only because they are disproportionately punished, but because their resistance made this moment possible in the first place.
What we are witnessing today is not a departure from Woman, Life, Freedom, nor its dilution. It is its expansion. That revolution broke the silence and dismantled fear. The current protests reveal another dimension of Iranian society: its capacity for mass mobilization, collective discipline, and solidarity beyond ideological boundaries. Together, these moments tell a coherent story. Women ignited the transformation; society followed. The future of Iran is being imagined not through a single slogan or leader, but through a shared determination to reclaim life itself.
Whatever the immediate outcome, something irreversible has already occurred. Fear no longer organizes society. Hope, however fragile, has entered the political field. And that, more than any single protest, is what threatens the regime most.
(published 21 January 2026)
About the author
Homa Bazafkan holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the University of Vienna and is a freelance researcher specialising in migration and integration studies, with a focus on refugee women. She has worked for various organisations providing social and psychosocial support to refugees.