How “Women, Life, Freedom” Anti-Hijab Protests Changed Iran & Its Prisons.
The “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that erupted in Iran last year has transformed the country both inside and outside prison, according to French-Iranian anthropologist and academic Fariba Adelkhah.
By Rachel “Sink” Lindsay
Meet Fariba Adelkhah.
Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian academic who was released from an Iranian prison after being held since 2019, recently described how the “Women, Life, Freedom” protest movement in Iran has positively impacted both inside and outside prison.
Source: Voice of America
Women, Life, Freedom!
The movement calls for an end to Iran’s mandatory headscarf rule for women and the clerical regime. It was sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police after being arrested over violating the country’s strict hijab rules.
Source: Voice of America
Mahsa Amini’s Death.
The Iranian government insisted that Amini died from a heart attack but reports indicate she died from a skull fracture due to heavy blows to the head. Protests erupted after her death, with women worldwide cutting their hair in solidarity. Protestors adopted the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom,” leading to changes in societal norms related to headscarves.
Source: Voice of America
Adelkhah’s Arrest.
Adelkhah, a researcher, was arrested in 2019 and given a five-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin prison for conspiring against national security and one year for propaganda, which she vehemently denied. She was finally released from prison earlier this year.
Hope For Women.
In prison, Adelkhah says she witnessed the courage of female prisoners—including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi—who banded together in support of the anti-hijab movement. She noted that it has united people from various walks of life, leading to a change in Iranian society, even within its prisons.
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
–Maya Angelou
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