On the thirtieth anniversary of the historic demonstration of Iranian women against forced Hejab in 1979
‘The Campaign for Abolition of all Misogynist Gender Based Legislation & Islamic Punitive Laws in Iran’ celebrates March 8th Women’s International Day.
We are approaching the thirtieth anniversary of one of the most critical protest marches in the history of the Iranian women's movement when thousands protested in March 1979 against mandatory Hejab and the imposition of misogynist Islamic legislation. This protest marked a turning point in the contemporary struggles of Iranian women as it marked a significant opposition to all legislation and regulations derived from Islamic Sharia laws. The demonstration marked the first organised resistance of secular Iranian women which has been followed by three decades of struggle and resistance against the rule of a reactionary regime where inferiority of women and their second class status is considered as one of its pivotal tenets and has been supported by legislation and their suppression has become an integral part of its policy and practice.
This protest heralded three decades of relentless and bloody confrontation between the women’s movement and the Iran's Islamic regime on major women’s demands including the vision, strategies and programme for emancipation and freedom of women and gaining equality with men in all spheres of private and public life.
At a time when Iranian women are the first victims of poverty, destitution, insecurity, repression and all consequences of the destructive policies of the capitalist order in the world, which vision, policies and strategies can prepare Iranian women for a full confrontation with these conditions while paving the way for broader horizons for achieving freedom and emancipation?
At a time when the legitimacy of Iran's Islamic regime is challenged both nationally and internationally, how can we invigorate and advance women's struggles in such a way that it can also strengthen and deepen the democratic struggles of the peoples of Iran in pursuit of establishing a society free of women’s exploitation and repression?
At a time when the contradictions between the Islamic regime and the imperialist powers are on the rise, the Iranian people face the destructive consequences of an economic embargo and there is the possibility of war, how can the women’s movement in Iran maintain its independence, whilst ensuring that neither the Islamic regime nor the Imperialist countries supporting the US led war can abuse the women and their just demands for emancipation for their reactionary aims?
Iran's women's movement – whilst seeking growth and dynamism - is facing numerous intellectual and ideological challenges.
On the thirtieth anniversary of its historic demonstration in 1979 and a hundred years after the participation of Iranian women in the Constitutional Revolution, can the women's movement today, relying on the achievements of the previous generations, present a viable and far reaching perspective for equality and freedom? Which vision, programme and strategy is needed?
We are organising a seminar on the 6th and 7th of March in Stockholm to discuss these issues. We invite all those interested to participate in this seminar. On 8th March, we will march in solidarity with women’s movements for emancipation and against patriarchy and oppression in all over the world on the International Women's Day.
To contact us or for registration, please use following e-mail address
Seminar_karzar@yahoo.com
Campaign for Abolition of all Misogynist Gender Based legislation & Islamic Punitive Laws in Iran
November 2008
WWW.karzar-zanan.com
karzar2005@yahoo.com