The Iranian women's movement: Repression versus nonviolent resolve

Abstract

One of the more innovative and determined examples of grassroots organizing and civil resistance in very difficult conditions can be found in Iran, where women are channeling their grievances into a strategic nonviolent campaign to end gender subordination and to expand legal rights. Beyond its own vision of gender equality, the Iranian women's movement is expanding the frontiers of civic action. For the last decade, the movement has been treading the path laid during the country's Constitutional Revolution more than a century prior, inching toward suffrage, equal educational opportunities, and full participation in political and economic life.1 Despite systemic obstacles and recurrent setbacks, Iranian women, with unflagging courage and determination, have continued their nonviolent struggle. They have adjusted their strategies and tactics to take into account the evolving political and cultural conditions in Iran.