Both were 22-year-olds. Their deaths in 2023 serve as a reminder on International Women’s Day that the tragedies of femicide and gender-based violence (GBV) will continue into 2024. “Honor killings” need to be recognized as problems that are not only confined to the global south and developing world.

 While governments often react to direct violence, this problem will not end unless both state and society recognize endemic structural and cultural violence that enable femicide. The failure to act on these problems becomes a form of “necropolitics,” where the states allow women to succumb to the fate of femicide.

Direct Violence

Norwegian scholar Johan Galtung’s Triangle of Violence begins with “direct violence,” which often gets the most attention.

The father of Tiba Al-Ali projected direct violence against his daughter by strangling her. The last thing Tiba saw was the eyes of her father before she died.

Turetta projected direct violence against Giulia, a video camera capturing him beating her, and then later stabbing her 20 times to the neck and head. The last thing Giulia saw was the eyes of her ex-partner.

Tiba chose to defy her father.  Giulia chose to leave Filippo and she was graduating before him, which he could not accept.

Structural Violence

Cameroonian scholar Achille Mbembe defines “necropolitics” as how political actors allow certain demographics to die. When states fail to prevent femicide that is a form of necropolitics, or what Galtung would call “structural violence.”

Ali’s murder is part of the rise of GBV due to a revival of tribal culture that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein encouraged after the 1991 Gulf War to maintain domestic order, as his security forces were diminished. Iraq’s gendered insecurity continued unabated as the security sector collapsed after the 2003 invasion.  The US touted post-Saddam Iraq as a model state that would inspire a wave of democratization in the region. Yet Articles 41 and 409 of the Iraqi Penal Code, to this day, permits males to “punish” female members of a household. Those codes are a form of structural violence and necropolitics, enabling “honor killings.” It allows “practices of patriarchy” at the state level.

Women’s rights in Iraq • FRANCE 24 English Video

Structural violence and state patriarchy is evident by the security sector failing to address this issue, as the police allegedly knew beforehand that Al-Ali’s life was at risk and failed to take action.

Let us turn to Europe. Surprisingly, the Italian state engages in necropolitics by not legally recognizing “femicide” as a separate crime. Cecchettin’s sister, Elena, referred to this problem when said, “Femicide is a murder committed by the state because the state doesn’t protect us.” The state’s failure in this case to prevent direct violence is itself a form of violence. In the absence of the state Elena refers to the need for Italian civil society and NGOs to step in: “We need to fund anti-violence centres and give the possibility to those who need to ask for help.”

After the murder, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she would increase funds to women’s shelters and anti-violence centers. However, Meloni was also part of the problem, since her misogynistic right-wing politics and “Brothers of Italy”(Fratelli d’Italia) party enabled gendered cultural violence in Italy.   

Cultural Violence

After the murder in Iraq, a twitter user, Ali Bey, wrote that women should “behave or face the same fate as Tiba Al-Ali,” along with a series of other voices in the Iraqi cybersphere condoning, if not celebrating the murder. These outbursts are examples of cultural violence or societal patriarchy that enables such crimes.

Elena links the murder of her younger sister to the patriarchal culture of violence that pervades Italy, a form of cultural necropolitics, which normalises the toxic behaviour of men like Turetta and eventually commits femicide. She said “Turetta is often described as a monster, but he’s not a monster.”  She then addresses cultural elements: “A monster is an exception, a person who’s outside society, a person for whom society doesn’t need to take responsibility. But there’s a responsibility. Monsters aren’t sick, they’re healthy sons of the patriarchy and rape culture.” 

Meloni promised promised a new educational campaign in schools to eradicate “the toxic culture of violence” in the country. While Meloni had condemned sexual violence in the past, it was usually when a migrant committed GBV, to support the anti-immigrant politics of her party.

In 2023 I conducted two digital autopsies on Tiba’s YouTube account and Giulia’s Instagram account. Both were beautiful souls that made the earth a better place. Tiba’s vibrant videos described her new life in Istanbul, to pursue her education. Guilia loved her mom, had a collection of beer bottle tops, and apparently had a fear of going to the hospital alone, but overcame her fear.  That fear apparently had to do with the fact that she was taking care of her mom who eventually died of cancer.

The triangle of violence and necropolitics offers a nuanced means of analyzing the agents of patriarchy.  But a simple linguistic exercise can also achieve this goal, using patriarchy as a verb instead of an abstract noun. We must each ask ourselves “Who or what has patriarched me or others in the past, present, and future?” and “Who or what have I patriarched?” Difficult questions, yes, but by bringing them into focus we can begin to identify the active agents and institutions that have patriarched and continue to patriarch in Iraq, Italy and the world.  On this International Women’s Day, Iraq and Italy have failed to ensure gendered security.

In the spirit of International Women’s Day, let’s look at a brief profile of women’s status today and the consequences for our country and the world.

If I asked my brothers, my many nephews, male friends and colleagues, did they think women are as capable as men, I wager that most, if not all, would say yes. Beyond doubt we women have all the talent, intelligence, and potential for leadership and political responsibility as men. But I have also learned from recent history that, in some cases – such as negotiating an end to conflict; working toward long-standing peace; and prioritizing health, education and social welfare in government – women outperform men.

I would go so far as to say that the fate of nations is tied to the status of women. Studies back this up. A team of researchers has created the largest global database on the status of women called WomanStats. Their findings are profoundly illuminating for global security and world peace. In a sentence: the degree of women’s equality predicts best how peaceful or conflict-ridden their countries are. Consider that feminist revolutions to gain human rights and equality for women and girls have freed and saved the lives of millions of women and girls—without weapons, without fists, without a drop of blood spilled.

Let’s bring the injustice of female inequality down to the personal level, where millions of women and girls here and throughout the world experience sexual violence, sex trafficking and prostitution; neglect of girls because of son preference; and preventable maternal mortality. Ponder this shocking finding: More lives were lost in the 20th century through male violence against women in all its forms than during 20th century wars and civil strife. Yet, while thousands of monuments in parks and plazas throughout the United States honor those who gave their lives for their country, only one – the first of its kind – is being planned for women who lost their lives giving birth to their country’s children.

World Association for Sustainable Development Video: “International Women’s Day 2024 and Most Influential Women 2024 Sustainability Awards ”

The scourge of men raping women and girls is now compounded in those US states that have denied or greatly diminished the reproductive right to abortion. It is estimated that there were 65,000 rape-related pregnancies between July 2022 and January 2024 in US states banning abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned the 50-year women’s right to make their own reproductive decisions.

Looking into women’s economic status, we find that women have higher rates of poverty than men across most races and ethnicities, with women of color having the highest. Women are hired at a lower level than male counterparts and paid less for the same work, and this wage discrepancy follows them throughout their work life. Domestic violence causes women to lose an average of 8 million days of paid work per year and is a strong factor in women’s homelessness.

Not only do more women than men struggle to cover everyday expenses due to the gender wage gap, which has remained stagnant for 20 years – at about 82% – but the gap compounds over a lifetime, a significant factor contributing to the disparity in poverty rates among women and men age 75 and older.

Women’s birth of and care for children are not compensated with paid parental leave in the United States, unlike all other comparable countries; thus, women who give birth are cheated of savings, pensions and Social Security. No surprise then that the greatest risk factor for being poor in old age is having been a mother.

On a personal note: My fairest employer was my brother Michael: when I delivered papers for him in 7th and 8th grades, he paid me the same rate as himself. Bless you, Mike

• Fairer than the US Environmental Protection Agency New England, which hired me a grade below a comparable male environmental engineer employed at the same time. (When I confronted the director about the inequity, he responded “Doesn’t your husband work?”)

• Fairer than my next employer, which hired me at a significantly lower salary than a comparable male colleague, forcing me to enter into (successful) litigation to win equal pay for equal work and retroactive compensation.

Finally, studies of women and men negotiating post-conflict agreements found that all-male groups take riskier, less empathic and more aggressive positions. They also break down more quickly than negotiations that include women. Interestingly, men are more satisfied with decisions made with women involved than by all-male groups.

So where are the women in negotiations for permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, return of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Israeli jails, and life-saving aid to Gaza? Where are the women in efforts to bring the war in Ukraine to an end? When will men dare to use the wisdom and skill of women to end their wars and create peace agreements that endure?

International Women’s Day is not only about the arithmetic of equality but also about its consequences – justice for women and girls and a better future for all in our country and the world.

The human rights experts held a news conference on Monday to call for an impartial inquiry into the abuses apparently committed by Israeli troops against women and girls, including murder, rape, and sexual assault. They expressed extreme concern at the “horrifying reports” that had reached them

International human rights experts called for an independent investigation into suspected Israeli violations committed against Palestinian women and girls, including murder, rape, and sexual assault. The experts expressed their deep concern about the “horrific reports” that revealed cases of rape and threats of sexual assault by Israeli forces during their arbitrary detention of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the Palestinian West Bank. They said there were “credible and conclusive allegations of blatant violations” and that women and girls were victims of arbitrary execution, often alongside members of their families, including children. In a communique, they expressed their shock at the reports of deliberate targeting and extra-judicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought safety or while they were fleeing.

These human rights experts were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, but are independent and not UN representatives. I give their names below.

TRT World Video: “Israeli violations against Palestinian girls, women in Gaza”

They pointed to the arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women, among them human rights defenders, journalists, and humanitarian activists in Gaza and the West Bank. They said, “Many were exposed to inhumane and degrading treatment and to severe beatings. They were deprived of menstrual pads during their periods, of food, and of medicine.”

The Office of the High Commission on Human Rights quotes the experts as saying, “We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence.”

OHCHR adds, “They also noted that photos of female detainees in degrading circumstances were also reportedly taken by the Israeli army and uploaded online.”

They spoke of their dismay at reports of Palestinian women in prison being subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, including strip searching by male troops of the Israeli army. They demanded an independent, unimpeachable, comprehensive, urgent and effective investigation into these assaults, with full Israeli cooperation.

They said that they had evidence that at least two imprisoned Palestinian women were raped, while others were threatened with rape and sexual violence. They said there were indications that Palestinian girls and women were deliberately targeted and extra-judicially executed in places of asylum or during their attempts to escape. Some of the latter were waving pieces of white cloth but were killed by the Israeli army.

According to OHCHR, the communique concluded, “Taken together, these alleged acts may constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and amount to serious crimes under international criminal law that could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute. . . . Those responsible for these apparent crimes must be held accountable and victims and their families are entitled to full redress and justice,”

The OHCHR notes that the experts were “Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstić, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working group on discrimination against women and girls. The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system.”

The Israeli mission in Geneva hastened to denounce the communique, charging that the international human rights rapporteurs were animated by a hatred of Israel rather than a devotion to the truth. It said that the Israeli authorities had not received any complaints but were prepared to investigate the Israeli security forces if there were credible allegations and evidence.

It is a particularly ugly custom of Israeli officials to meet any criticism with charges of “hating Israel” or hating Jews, which they conflate with the former. Tel Aviv owes an apology to these internationally respected human rights experts, even if they are only women.

Palestinian women prisoners are subjected to torture, abuse, beatings and threats of rape

Written byRaseef22

 

Freed Palestinian prisoner Ruba Assi was welcomed as a hero upon her release in the prisoner exchange deal last November. Screenshot from a video by medyascope english. Fair use.

This article is written by Hala Al Zuheiri, and was originally published in Raseef22 An edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

“They took me and my daughter to a room inside the house, and they brought in a female soldier with a police dog. She ordered us to undress completely. We did. I acted blind, deaf, and mute so that they would not beat my son,” Suhad Al-Khamour, 49, from the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, tells Raseef22.

In late November, Suhad’s home was surrounded by a large number of heavily armed Israeli occupation forces (IOF), who then stormed it and destroyed its contents. Suhad, a mother to three sons and a daughter, spoke with Raseef22 about how the armed soldiers kept her husband and son in the living room while she and her daughter were taken into the bedroom at gunpoint and trailed by a guard dog. Suhad and her daughter were forced to undress before redressing and quickly leaving the house. They went out barefoot, waiting in the cold for the questioning of her husband and her son, Mohammad, 26, to conclude. When they came out, the IOF took her son with them, only to release him two hours later.

On December 4, the IOF raided Suhad’s home again before taking Mohammad to Ofer Prison, near Ramallah. This is not Suhad’s first violent targeting by the occupation forces. Her son Ibrahim, 20, is detained at Nafha Prison, where he is completing a 5-year sentence, whereas her son Omar, 14, died in early 2023, after he was shot in the head by occupation forces. Rona, 24, is the only one of Suhad’s children still with her at home, although her psychological condition is rapidly deteriorating.

Suhad is just one of hundreds of women who have been arrested or have had family members arrested in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza, and subjected to various forms of humiliation and violence.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, about 300 female prisoners were arrested in 2023, including 184 after October 7, 2023. 

Since October 7, Israel has escalated its campaign of illegal arrests and its targeting of women’s bodies through torture, abuse, strip searches, forcefully removing veils, in addition to starvation, depriving them of basic needs, and detaining them in harsh conditions in prisons and compounds. 

Testimonies from Gazan female prisoners similarly reveal use of the same tools of humiliation. Many civilians have been forcibly taken prisoner by occupation forces, and their whereabouts are still unknown.

Reinforcing the occupation by violating the body

Ruba Assi was released on November 28, 2023, in the fifth part of the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Assi spoke with Raseef22 about her arrest after October 7. It was significantly more violent and humiliating than her first arrest and detention in 2020, which lasted for 21 months.

Shortly after the start of the war on Gaza, the IOF blew open the door of Assi’s house in the town of Beit Liqia, west of Ramallah, in the West bank, and stormed inside. Family members were separated into different rooms, and Assi was arrested without being allowed to say goodbye to her family or even wear a jacket. 

Occupation forces tied and blindfolded her, before dragging her into a military vehicle. The female soldier assigned to her spoke loudly and aggressively in Hebrew, intentionally provoking her. She also threatened to send her to Gaza to torture her there. After Assi arrived at the Israeli camp, still bound and blindfolded, a group of soldiers approached her, taunting her and insulting her.

She was later transferred to the Hasharon Detention Center, where she was subjected to a strip search by two female guards. “If the prisoner refuses [the search], she will be severely beaten,” Assi explained. Eventually, Assi was placed in solitary confinement at Damon Prison. She shared:

There was not enough food or water. We were deprived of bathing and subjected to violent oppression without any prior justification and at any time. We were deliberately neglected in terms of medical care, and existing health conditions were not taken into account. Even when we were preparing to be released after our names were included as part of the exchange deal, we were subjected to strip searches.

Many testimonies from released female prisoners reveal torture, abuse, beatings and threats, include threats of rape, as well as being taken hostage in order to pressure family members to turn themselves in. Palestinian civilians are also subjected to these methods of torture during home raids, at Israeli checkpoints, and during visits to detained family members.

A longstanding policy

Strip searches are not a new tool of suppression and humiliation for Israel, but they have recently emerged as an integral part of the ongoing violent crusade against and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Ismat Mansour, a former prisoner and expert on Israeli affairs, told Raseef22, “In Gaza, we saw how men were stripped down and filmed, in order to strip the person from within and instill a sense of inferiority and helplessness.” Mansour labels strip searches a tool of the occupation used to violate the privacy and desecrate the space of Palestinians, while diminishing their humanity. It is a deeply intentional measure.

The Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association similarly confirmed to Raseef22 that the policy of strip searching is not new. However, since the start of the ongoing war on Gaza, the violence accompanying physical inspections has blatantly increased, according to testimonies from released female prisoners. 

Workers at Addameer confirmed, “Female prisoners are subjected to a strip search at the moment of their arrest and at the detention center, and sometimes they are ordered to sit in a squatting position. Male prisoners are also subjected to this– a tool to seize control of the detainee’s body and humiliate and violate their dignity.” Testimonies recorded after October 7 indicate that female prisoners have been threatened with rape and verbal harassment.

Hassan Abed-Rabbo, spokesman for the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, believes that “this is primarily intended to undermine and harm national and human dignity, as well as to send a message to all Palestinian women that anyone thinking of acting against the occupation will have her dignity violated and her privacy invaded.” He emphasized, “it is an attempt to pressure women and sideline them from their role in the struggle.”

Who will hold Israel accountable for violating women’s bodies?

Dr. Dalal Iriqat, an international law specialist, explained to Raseef22, “When violations against prisoners are systematic and repeated, and laws safeguarding prisoners’ rights are continuously violated, the policy, according to international and legal definitions, escalates into a war crime against humanity.”

Iriqat emphasized that the policy of strip searches violates international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, stressing that the violations are not limited to this policy but also include depriving female prisoners of basic rights, such as food and a healthy environment. “The Israeli authorities took advantage of the preoccupation of human rights organizations about war crimes in Gaza to further abuse and torment the prisoners,” says Iriqat.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor called on the international community to pressure Israel to reveal the fate of Gazan women who have been arrested and whose whereabouts are unknown. Approximately 3,000 Palestinian detainees from Gaza have disappeared, including children and minors. The Human Rights Monitor claims that the Israeli army continues to arrest dozens of women, girls, and infants, all of whom are subjected to humiliating detention conditions, strip searches, the forced removal of their hijab, and threats of rape.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs state that the intensity of the crimes committed against women is one of the most prominent and dangerous aspects at this stage in the war. This violence is an extension of a long history of Israeli targeting of Palestinian women; Will this war on Gaza be much harsher than any of the previous wars in the history of the occupation?

Written byRaseef22

World Hijab Day recognizes the millions of Muslim women and girls who wear the traditional Islamic headscarf.

(The Conversation) – Around the world, Muslim girls in hijab are experiencing unique forms and heightened rates of gender and race-based violence and discrimination. Overt violence against girls and women in hijab have captured global attention, evidenced most recently in the violent Canadian attacks on women in hijabs in Alberta and the horrific murders of the Afzaal family in London, Ont.

Violence against hijabi girls is often situated in structural oppression, including gendered Islamophobia and white supremacy. Understanding the underpinnings of this violence is key to imagining more just and equitable futures for girls and young women in hijab.

Islamophobia

The term Islamophobia has often been used and understood in different ways. While often used interchangeably, some have argued that the term anti-Muslim racism, rather than the term Islamophobia, better encapsulates the systemic nature of anti-Muslim hate and violence.

Sociologist and Muslim studies scholar Jasmin Zine has outlined how Islamophobia in Canada is comprised of systemic oppressive networks and industries that are both fueled by and fuel anti-Muslim racism. Zine explains that an “industry behind purveying anti-Muslim hate” distinguishes Islamophobia from other forms of oppression.

According to Zine, this well-funded, lucrative and often transnational industry is comprised of media outlets, political figures and donors, white nationalist groups, think tanks, influencers and ideologues that support and engage in “activities that demonize and marginalize Islam and Muslims in Canada.”

Gendered Islamophobia

Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism is part of the fabric of institutions. Critics of laws such as Bill 21 in Québec and similar measures in France have argued that Muslim women who wear the hijab are most affected. These measures reflect narratives that position Muslim girls and women as oppressed victims in need of rescue, as well as Orientalist tropes in the form of the “save us from the Muslim girl” narratives.

As Muslim women in hijab, we grieve horrific violence alongside our communities. Violent attacks highlight how anti-Muslim racism is often situated at a nexus of anti-Black racism, xenophobia, white supremacy and patriarchy.

We know that anti-Muslim violence is often aimed at girls and women in hijab. Yet, academic literature on hijabi girlhood is relatively scarce. Two years ago, we put out a call to the international academic community seeking papers and creative submissions on the experiences of girls and young women in hijabs.

The girl in the hijab

Two years later, our new special issue, called The Girl in the Hijab, has now been published in the international journal Girlhood Studies. It comes at a time when anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism are on the rise around the country and around the world.

Image by Chan Factory from Pixabay

The special issue includes academic articles written by mostly Muslim women and creative works produced by hijab-wearing girls themselves. Both types of work provide insight into the current global landscape of hijabi girl experiences.

Cultural politics lecturer Noha Beydoun explores the events surrounding the donning of the American flag as a method of protest. She finds that this phenomenon gained popularity because it worked to conceal complicated U.S. histories regarding Muslim immigration and broader imperial interests. Beydoun’s analysis evidences that the “American flag as hijab for girls and women reinforces the larger constructs it seeks to resist.”

Gender studies professor Ana Carolina Antunes highlights how unconscious bias and microaggressions hinder a positive sense of belonging among hijab-wearing students and impacts their academic success. This study also reveals that anti-Muslim sentiment in schools affects the everyday experiences of Muslim girls, leading to disconnection from the school community.

Among the central themes in the special issue is how women and girls resist gendered and Islamophobic discrimination in their everyday lives. Hijabi girls resist oppressive narratives through their everyday actions and activist engagements. In Antunes’s study, girls asserted their right to occupy space in the educational environment.

Clinical social workers Amilah Baksh and her mother, Bibi Baksh, provide insight into their lived experiences as Indo-Caribbean social workers and university educators. In their article, they identify the hijab as a form of resistance and resilience in their personal and professional lives. In their words, “it was never the hijab that rendered us voiceless. It is Islamophobia.”

The special issue highlights how Muslim girls and women, racialized through donning hijab, continue to be at the forefront of the struggle against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim violence, even as we remain among the primary targets of that violence.

The articles in this special issue demonstrate the need for better policies, education and laws that consider the unique experiences of girls and women in hijab. To counter violence against girls and women in hijab, we must name and understand the complexities of anti-Muslim racism and gendered Islamophobia.

Critically, this must center the voices of girls and women in hijab, opening or widening spaces for girls and women in hijab to practise acts of resistance in ways that are not bound by colonial logics and respectability politics.

Salsabel Almanssori, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Windsor and Muna Saleh, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Concordia University of Edmonton

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Since the 1987 Revolution, women’s bodies and female sexuality have served as focal points for promoting Islamic nationalism in Iran. The veil, in particular, became a powerful marker of resistance against the penetration of Western values. Although the politicization of female bodies and sexuality did not begin with the Islamic Revolution, here the focus is on the period surrounding the revolution and its aftermath. On the discursive level, two strategies or social technologies have been employed in attempts to govern female sexuality. The first, identity formation, involves crafting the “Ideal Woman” to be imitated, as exemplified by Ali Shariati’s depiction of “Fatemeh” (Mohammad’s daughter), as simple, pure, and devoid of sexual instincts. This form of identity formation remains an ongoing project, evident in the publication of books on “The Balanced Woman” and the organization of conferences on the subject where the balanced woman is envisioned as a defender of the Islamic revolution and its martyrs. The second strategy, knowledge production and discourses on female sexuality and women’s role in an Islamic society have varied around temporal and political contexts. For instance, Farhi (1994) explores how Khomeini’s writings attributed different functions to women’s sexuality and behavior depending on the political contexts, e.g., a shift from a set of instructions for legitimate reproduction to insistence on the role of veiled women in resisting western forces during the years of the Islamic revolution.

With respect to the material dimension, a number of apparatuses emerged almost immediately after the revolution to make sure that women abided by alleged Islamic dress codes through the imposition of uniforms in schools and by mandating the wearing of the Chador as a pre-condition for accessing particular services, such as some healthcare facilities. These measures transformed the wearing of the hijab into a coercive institutional mandate.

The portrayal of women as the guardians of the revolutionary cause and the imposition of the mandatory hijab were never universally accepted or endorsed by women. Groups of women resisted these from the outset. Among middle-class women, resistance took the form of not following the hijab regulations strictly by, for example, participating in large-scale street demonstrations in 1981 after the hijab became officially mandatory or allowing some hair to remain visible.  Additionally, Iranian women have participated in a number of campaigns over the years, including The One Million Signatures Campaign and the Stealthy Freedom campaign, and of course, most recently last year’s Women, Life, Freedom movement.

Photo by Craig Melville on Unsplash

More than a year has passed since Mahsa Amini’s death. The repercussions of that tragic incident were undeniably significant. While the Women, Life, Freedom movement emerged in Iran, it rapidly gained international attention and received substantial support, primarily from the Iranian diaspora. The expansive scale of the protests, the international attention, and the expressions of solidarity, coupled with widespread media coverage, led many, me included, to anticipate an eventful protest on the one-year anniversary of Amini’s death. However, it was quieter than one would have imagined.

Does this apparent quietness signify a failure of the movement, or a weakening of Iranian women’s resolve to resist? Drawing on firsthand observations, my response leans towards a “No”. I am an Iranian woman in diaspora who lived through dress-code regulations imposed by the Iranian government. I also witnessed daily life both during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising’s active phase and on the first anniversary of Amini’s death. Moreover, my ongoing research explores the governance of sexuality in contemporary Iran, contributing to my contextual understanding. These factors position me to address and engage with the question posed. As I said, my short answer to the question is no. My longer answer unfolds below.

As mentioned earlier, I was in Tehran when the protests in response to Amini’s death began. Participating in protests was not the only way women responded, they demonstrated their solidarity through alternative means, such as uncovering their hair and navigating daily life without traditional coverings. The prevalence of women without hijabs increased notably on the days when there was a call for protest. Although I left Tehran a few months into the uprising, upon my return several months later, I observed a substantial rise in the number of women confidently navigating the streets without hijabs. I understand this as a continuation of the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

The Iranian authorities have proposed and discussed new measures to enforce the compulsory wearing of the hijab. Rather than physical punishment, alternative measures include preventing those women who do not conform from accessing certain services, such as internet connectivity or employment opportunities. A member of Iran’s parliament, citing the interior minister, stated that if violators persist in breaking the hijab rules after receiving a warning via text message, they would be denied public services, potentially affecting access to banks, government offices, schools, and university campuses. In April 2023, Iran’s Education Ministry declared that schooling would be withheld from those who break hijab rules. Technologies like surveillance cameras are said to be deployed in public spaces to monitor individuals and identify women not adhering to hijab regulations.

The Iranian government has implemented some of these plans: for instance, numerous car owners received text notifications about fines for not wearing the hijab while driving. The question that arises is to what extent can the government use these new measures to successfully compel women to abide by the hijab rules. Below, I try to delve into specific observations that might provide the reader with a better perspective.

My observations of street life reveal a significant increase in the number of women navigating public spaces without veils. While the morality police have not utilized the same violent measures as in the past, and there have been no widespread arrests of unveiled women, officers, typically one female and at least two to three males, stationed at the entrances of subway stations, continue monitoring and instructing unveiled women to “correct” their hijab. In all instances observed, no woman obeyed these commands, and there were even occasions when elderly individuals expressed admiration for the acts of disobedience of younger women.

The proposed punishment of denying women’s access to services like banks for persistently appearing in public without a hijab was one of the new enforcement measures. However, I witnessed an incident where a woman entered a bank without wearing a hijab was treated respectfully by the staff, receiving the service she needed. While this is a single example, and I do not mean to overgeneralize it, my observations at various organizations and institutions have led me to conclude that what I term “ordinary staff members” generally do not discriminate against women without hijabs. On the contrary, my experiences during data collection at an important organization in Iran indicated that such staff members exhibit sympathy or at least tolerance toward women who contravene hijab regulations.

The persistence of women breaking hijab laws extends beyond Tehran. During my stay, I had the opportunity to travel to two other cities, namely Kerman and Shiraz, the former recognized for its comparatively religious or conservative nature. In these two cities, there was a lighter presence of officers on the streets. In Kerman, although there were fewer unveiled women on the streets, there seemed to be significant tolerance towards them. In Shiraz, the number of unveiled women engaging in daily life was considerably high.

In conclusion, while the state continues to monitor women and employ measures against hijab rule breakers, it is highly unlikely that it will achieve its goals. The state appears to lack the necessary capacity, including technologies and more importantly support from the majority of the people, to succeed. Moreover, the occupation of public spaces by women engaging in acts of “civil disobedience,” putting their bodies at risk, appears to be capable of contesting the state’s capacity to control women’s bodies. This insight may provide valuable guidance for determining effective forms of activism and resistance for Iranian women and offers hopeful prospects for their activism in the future.  

If we had to trace back the start of women rights in Tunisia, many would guide you back to the historic promulgation of progressive family law in Tunisia in 1956 right after the independence from France. This law made Tunisia a pioneer of women rights in the Arab world. Many Tunisian women give credit to the 1956 civil rights code (Code of Personal Status) to all the suffrage Tunisian women gained thereafter, alongside a focus on an accessible and an egalitarian education system that began to flourish after Tunisia’s independence. Since the unveiling of this code in 1956 by former President Habib Bourguiba, this day has become a celebration for Tunisian women every 13^th of August as the women’s National day.

Despite critics of former President Bourguiba who argue that this code was nothing more than a facade used by the previous president, the effects were undoubtedly a big gain for Tunisian women. Although the country soon moved into a repressive authoritarian regime for more than 20 years led by former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the political and societal gains in women rights were safeguarded and even pushed forward. Yet, while these rights may appear to be modern and progressive, they were used by this regime to pander to the west and to hide the ugly realities of Ben Ali’s authoritarian regime that all came to collapse in 2011.

Global Land Tool Network: “Success stories: Women securing their housing, land, and property rights in Tunisia”

Political and economic instability and corruption in Tunisia were the catalyst for the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. However, Tunisian women took the chance provided by the revolution to push women’s rights into the central stage. Women were as essential as men in the protests leading to the success of the Revolution, and according to Lawyer Bilel Larbi, women from all walks of life were present in the protests; from veiled women to women in mini-skirts. Thanks to the Jasmine Revolution, women protected their already established rights, and gained even more political rights such as the 2014 gender-parity law in the parliament, the passing of the 2017 legislation concerning violence against women, or the fact that in 2018, women secured 47 percent of seats in local elections.

Since the 2011 revolution, women have truly established themselves in the political scene and fought hard to maintain and improve their rights. However, the fight for equality and representation is still an ongoing issue in the country especially with the new government. According to Ahlam Boursal, general secretary of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, women in Tunisia still suffer from systematic violence and hate speech along with other major issues that still plague the Tunisian scene. Hence, Tunisian women do have major gains when it comes to women rights but it’s not enough. It was and still is an ongoing fight to protect these rights and push them even forward.

On the other hand, if we want to talk about women rights in Iran, we need to start with pre-revolutionary Iran. The Pahlavi era provided major gains in terms of women rights; Education was free and equal for boys and girls, in 1963, women gained the right to vote and run for parliament, the legal marriage age for women was raised from 13 to 18, and women were protected from unilateral divorce. However, many of these advancements came to a halt after the 1979 Revolution under Khomeini. The new government undid most of the progress in women rights as they were seen as a rejection of Islamic rules and as an imposition of western values.

Since the 1979 Revolution, compulsory hijab laws and the removal of Pahlavi era reforms in Iran have penetrated and restricted almost all aspects of women’s life in the country. For instance, The compulsory hijab laws in modern day Iran restrict Iranian women’s access to employment, education, social benefits and proper health care. Also, due to the removal of the 1967 Family Protection Act, Iranian women can lawfully wed at the age of 13 and even younger than that through judicial and parental consent. Hence, instead of pushing women rights forward, the revolution provided the contrary effects and brought them back years behind.

Throughout this era of regression in women rights in Iran, women activists were unable to sustain any strong political support to champion their case but they are hailed with social support all over the world. A major example of their situation is the many names of socially influential activists who were faced with harassment, intimidation, detention, and smear campaigns in the pursuit of their rights such as Narges Mohammadi, who received an 11 years sentence for leading a human rights organization on charges of “colluding against national security,” and “generating propaganda against the state.”.

A simple comparison of Iran and Tunisia’s cases would undoubtedly lead to the conclusion that Tunisia’s revolutions — first against France and then against Ben Ali’s regime — led to the improvement of women’s rights and their solidification. As for Iran’s case, the Khomeini revolution irreversibly led to the regression of women’s rights in Iran. However, a deeper analysis would provide a better explanation and a closer look at both countries.

Democracy Now! “Woman, Life, Freedom: Narges Mohammadi, Imprisoned Iranian Activist, Awarded 2023 Nobel Peace Prize”

For starters, the Khomeini revolution of 1979 deployed women in their protests against the Pahlavi rule but in contrast to the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution, women were used as instruments for the revolution, not as agents of change championing their own cause like in the Tunisian revolution. Hence, the main difference was that women rights were an essential cause in Tunisia’s case, and a hindrance and a liability for the Iranian’s revolution’s goals.

Furthermore, deeper down in history, women rights in Tunisia starting from the rule of Habib Bourguiba became an integral part in Tunisians’ lives and norms, starting with the Code of Personal Status, which is celebrated and hailed to this day by Tunisian women. Yet, these progressive changes in Iran at the hands of the Pahlavi rulers were seen by the masses as western norms imposed on the people and were massively rejected and seen as a rejection of Iran’s culture.

In the end, while many women in Tunisia do still face numerous challenges in Tunisian society, the core concepts of women’s rights “were considered important to Tunisians from the creation of their sovereign national identity” which led them to survive multiple revolutions and stay on the forefront of the country’s social issues. On the other hand, these same concepts were imposed on the public and favored by the pre-revolution government in Iran making them feel unauthentic and a tool to please the west which rendered them in the end ineffective and detrimental in the long run to the women’s cause.

She is currently in Evin Prison on multiple charges, including spreading propaganda against the government, with 10 years, nine months left on her sentence. She issued a statement on hearing the news: “I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of all women.”

She supported last year’s movement for “Woman, Life, Liberty” from behind bars, have long criticized compulsory veiling.

Mohammadi’s causes included women’s rights, of course. But she has also campaigned for human rights more generally, including the right of women to be safe from sexual harassment even in prison and of prisoners to be safe from torture and from the death penalty.

Although many observers in the United States will applaud this award as a black eye for the self-styled Islamic Republic of Iran, the fact is that Mohammadi would be critical of American policies as well. That is, if we are to listen to her prophetic voice with approval, we must do more than use her politically to denigrate our enemies; we must take to heart the implications of her ethical witness for our own society, too.

For instance, there were 18 executions of prisoners in the United States in 2022, up 64% from the total of 11 killed by the state in 2021. Although the US executes many fewer prisoners each year than Iran or Saudi Arabia, and although the number in the US has fallen significantly since the 1990s, it still does execute prisoners, and Ms. Mohammadi deeply believes that is wrong. She might well be in jail here if she lived in the United States, from protesting in front of city halls and jails. Only 13 states still permit executions in the US, and half of those killed in 2022 were executed in Texas and Oklahoma.

Moreover, 7 of these executions were seriously botched. In one instance, it took 3 hours of trying to get a fatal intravenous line into the arm of an Alabama convict. Some initial attempts to kill the convict were called off because of difficulties with the intravenous injection or because proper protocols has not been followed.

Between 46% and 54% of Americans believe in capital punishment, depending on which poll you believe. So Mohammadi might well be in a minority on this issue in the US, as well.

As for torture, Karen J. Greenburg wrote this week about the scandal that the Guantánamo Prison Camp still has not been closed. One of the difficulties has been that some prisoners were so badly tortured that no court, including a military tribunal, can now conduct a legitimate trial.

There has never been a reckoning by the US establishment with the Bush administration’s extensive use of torture.

If Mohammadi had been an American she might have been put on trial, as Josie Setzler was, for protesting torture at Guantánamo.

As for sexual abuse of female prisoners by male guards in federal prisons, a Senate report from last year makes it clear that this is a real issue and that it hasn’t been adequately addressed by the Bureau of Prisons.

Regarding women’s rights, I doubt Ms. Mohammadi would approve of Nebraska jailing a woman for two years for giving abortion pills to her daughter. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that she would not like our current Supreme Court much at all. She rails against religious theocrats’ repression of women.

So a warm congratulations to her, and to her cause, of women’s rights and human rights in Iran. But we owe it to ourselves also actually to listen to what she is saying and to take to heart the principles for which she has spent so much of her life in jail, torn from her husband and children.

(RFE/RL ) Shabana had a bright future ahead of her. She was studying to become a doctor and preparing to get married.

But the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 turned her life upside down. The militant group’s ban on women attending university forced her to abandon her studies. Then her fiance, who is based abroad, broke off their engagement.

Shabana, who was in her 20s, last month committed suicide in her hometown of Charikar, the provincial capital of the northern province of Parwan.

She is among the growing number of women and girls who have taken their own lives in Afghanistan, one of the few countries in the world where experts estimate that more women are committing suicide than men.

The surge in the number of female suicides in the country has been linked by experts to the Taliban’s severe restrictions on women. The hard-line Islamist group has banned women from education and most forms of employment, effectively denied them any public role in society, and imposed strict limitations on their mobility and appearance.

Although there are no official figures, Afghan mental-health professionals and foreign organizations have noted a disturbing surge in female suicides in the past two years.

“Today, women and girls make up most of the patients suffering from mental conditions in Afghanistan,” said Mujeeb Khpalwak, a psychiatrist based in Kabul.

“If we look at the women who were previously working or studying, 90 percent suffer from mental health issues now,” Khpalwak added. “They face tremendous economic uncertainty after losing their work and are very anxious about their future.”

Many Afghan women say they have been turned into virtual prisoners in their homes since the Taliban takeover. The vast majority of women are unemployed. And most say they are gripped by hopelessness.

Violence against women, meanwhile, has increased under the Taliban. The militants have scrapped legal assistance programs and special courts that were designed to combat violence against women and girls.

Forced and early marriages of teenage girls have also spiked across Afghanistan, with parents marrying off their adolescent daughters to avoid forced marriages to Taliban fighters.