Iranian Women Continue Nonviolent Resistance

Here is an update on some things specifically being done by women organizing in nonviolent ways in iran.

As more people were arrested, injured, or killed in the past weeks, large protests are being replaced with other forms of resistance. Still every day there are protests across Tehran and in some other cities, but they are smaller and more scattered. Women and men shout every single night on the rooftops of Tehran. People are talking about strikes, boycotts, writing on walls with green paint, and holding remembrance gatherings for those who were killed. Families are sitting outside Evin prison asking for their loved ones to be released.

Apart from their visible presence in protests and having their names among the arrestees , one of the things that specifically is being done by women is the gathering of Mourning mothers which according to their statement will happen every Saturday in a few parks in Tehran. Last week they gathered in Laleh park where police were already stationed and ready to beat, curse, and arrest them. Twenty were arrested then but were released withing a week. They released a statement insisting that they will continue to do this every week. This Saturday they gathered in four different parks, although security forces were again already deployed and waiting for them. They would not allow more than 2 women to sit on the same bench or stand next to each other (it is funny how these forces are so fearful of a group of silent middle aged women). One young woman Zeynab (who is a part of the women’s movement) was arrested and released the next day. Mothers will continue to gather every saturday until their demands are met: release of

Another act of resistance which pertains to women more is boycotting products that are being advertised on state television and radio (the only TV channels legally available in Iran). In their statement they say:

The burden of boycotting this monopolistic and anti-national media network lies on the shoulders of women more than everyone else, since they make up the majority of viewers and listeners and have the principal role in choosing which domestic products to purchase.