Member-only story
Women-Life-Freedom: What’s Next for Women’s Rights in Iran?
Government crackdowns quashed the protests after the 2022 killing of a young woman in morality police custody. Can the movement survive?
Two years after the tragic death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini ignited a firestorm of protests across Iran, the question of what’s next for the women’s rights movement, known by its rallying cry “Women, Life, Freedom,” looms large.
The Iranian government’s harsh crackdown on these protests — marked by arrests, deaths, and widespread repression — has momentarily quelled street demonstrations. But activists, inside and outside of Iran, suggest that the fight is far from over. Rather, it is evolving into new forms of resistance.
From the Streets to the Underground
At the height of the protests in 2022 and 2023, millions of Iranians took to the streets in cities across the country, from Tehran to Mashhad. Chants of “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” — Women, Life, Freedom — resonated as people demanded an end to the compulsory hijab and sought broader freedoms for women and marginalized communities. The government’s response was swift and brutal. Security forces killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands, many of whom remain behind bars.