As November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,approaches, we, the undersigned 23 independent Iranian womenâs organizations, once again affirm our collective determination to confront and resist all forms of gender-based and sexual violence.
The path before us is long and turbulent â a path that countless women and advocates of equality have walked with resilience and courage, facing imprisonment, exile, repression, and systematic exclusion, yet steadfastly continuing their struggle.
While structural violence against women in Iran existed even prior to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the current legal and political order, intertwined with religious institutions, state power, and patriarchal gender relations, has systematically intensified and reproduced such violence.
According to official statistics, in 2024 (1403 Iranian calendar), at least 158 women were murdered, and more than 16,500 cases of domestic violence were officially recorded â figures that reflect the institutionalization of structural violence in the country. In the public sphere, the execution of women represents one of the most extreme forms of state violence, serving as a blatant tool of control, repression, and the eradication of womenâs political and social agency.
Iran, with the highest number of executed women in the world, has turned violence against women into a mechanism for reinforcing misogynistic domination, targeting both womanhood and activism itself.
Over the past year, state violence against women, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions, has intensified. The death penalty has become a means to silence dissenting voices, particularly among ethnic and national minorities, the economically marginalized, LGBTQ+ communities, and social activists. Several women have been sentenced to execution or long-term imprisonment, their only âcrimeâ being their defense of life, dignity, and justice.
In the face of this machinery of death, we stand united through the âNo to Execution Tuesdayâ campaign, affirming the right to life for all human beings and calling for an end to the death penalty as one of the most brutal forms of state violence. The feminization of poverty is yet another visible outcome of the existing inequitable order â an order that intertwines gendered inequalities with class, ethnic, and regional marginalization, exposing women to multiple, intersecting forms of structural violence. This includes denial of education and healthcare, rising rates of child marriage, school dropout among girls, child labor, and dispossession from economic and livelihood resources.
We believe that under the shadow of war and militarization, one of the most extreme forms of violence against women continues to persist â a pervasive violence that affects not only womenâs lives but also their dignity, livelihoods, mental health, and capacity for collective organization. During the recent military attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran and the 12-day war in the region, women once again found themselves in precarious, unprotected, and highly vulnerable conditions. A number of female political prisoners, including those held in Evin Prison, were directly subjected to the bombardment and subsequently transferred to Qarchak Prison without adequate medical care â a transfer that in itself constitutes another manifestation of structural violence. Yet this violence is not confined to Iranâs borders. The logic of militarism and war-mongering, intertwined with gender, class, and ethnic inequalities, systematically threatens the lives of women across the region and the world.
From the destruction of healthcare and educational infrastructures to the spread of poverty, homelessness, and unemployment, women are consistently placed at the frontlines of war and crisis. While the same war making regimes simultaneously exclude women from decision-making and peacebuilding processes. War, militarization, and exclusionary politics endanger the lives of millions of women across the region. Over the past year, women have not only faced displacement and insecurity as a result of bombings but also witnessed thousands of Afghan migrants, particularly women and children, subjected to violent deportations carried out with state endorsement and within a framework of structural racism. Whether through bombardment or forced expulsion, these acts of violence emanate from the same system of domination and oppression that continuously marginalizes women and deprives them of the right to live freely and safely.
The revolutionary uprising of âWoman, Life, Freedomâ has not only challenged the existing oppressive order, but has also opened a new horizon for rethinking the very foundations of domination and violence. This new horizon reflects a profound shift in the balance of power â one that, despite the regimeâs temporary tactical retreats, particularly in its enforcement of mandatory hijab policies, signifies the growing strength of collective action and social resistance. This resistance is the product of generations of womenâs struggles â a multi-generational, intersectional movement for freedom and justice, transcending the boundaries of gender, ethnicity, and class, and transforming into a shared banner of social justice, equality, and liberation.
On this path, the struggle against gender-based violence is not solely the responsibility of women; it is a collective duty. Men who believe in equality must not remain mere allies; they must act as responsible participants, holding themselves accountable for their roles within structures of power and privilege, and actively working to dismantle the patterns of silence, complicity, and patriarchal behavior that perpetuate violence. This field of struggle calls upon us all â for the path toward a world that is humane, equal, and free from domination can only be achieved through the coordinated and conscious action of all.
We, the 23 Independent Iranian Womenâs Organizations, stand united in our conviction that ending violence against women is possible only through continuous, organized, and collective struggle. This struggle has emerged from the persistent confrontation with all forms of violence â in the private sphere, including domestic abuse and the denial of bodily autonomy; and in the public sphere, from discriminatory laws to political repression. Fully aware of the deep-rooted origins of violence embedded within patriarchal and male-dominated power structures, we have stood firm against the institutions, discourses, and practices that reproduce this violence.
We regard ourselves as part of the global feminist and justice-seeking movements that resist fundamentalism, racism, war, militarization, colonialism, and all forms of domination. Through solidarity, resilience, and collective resistance, we strive for a world free from violence, discrimination, and oppression.
We firmly uphold the truth that no system built upon repression and domination â whether cloaked in the name of religion or justified in the guise of modernity â can withstand the collective will of women and people who fight for freedom, equality, and human dignity. The âWoman, Life, Freedomâ uprising has shown that the moment of change is not a distant future â it is here and now, created through our collective action.
Women, Life, Freedom
November 2025
Together for Womenâs Health Foundation
Free Iranian Womenâs Association – Italy
Dallas Iranian Womenâs Association
Iranian-German Womenâs Association in Cologne, Germany
Iranian Womenâs Association of Parto
Iranian Womenâs Association Montreal
MeToo Movement Iran
Iranian Circle of Women for International Networking (ICWIN)
Women for Sustainable Freedom and Equality
Iranian Women Activists in Exile â Berlin
IKERO Womenâs Rights Organization
IWIN Iranian Women in Network
The Organization for Emancipation of Women
Everyday Feminism
Forum of Iranian Women in Vienna
Collective of Woman, Life, Freedom – Rome
Campaign to Stop Honor Killings
Gender Equality Committee of Solidarity of Iranian Republicans
Left Unity of Women
Zanan Group in Northern California
Orange County Womenâs Study Group
Mannav LGBTQ Community – Sweden
Iranian Womenâs Assembly in Hanover