November 25th: The day we say NO to state violence!
The Dominican dictator killed the Mirabal sisters on November 25th, 1960. Their names became the symbol of feminist struggles. The morality police killed Zhina Amini in Iran on September 16th, 2022. At the intersection of gender, ethnicity, class, and religion, Zhina’s name lays bare the systemic oppression inflicted by the repressive Iranian state.
Today is the 70th day of the feminist revolution in Iran. We condemn the government’s atrocities against people in Iran as state security forces have killed many, imprisoned tens of thousands and tortured many prisoners, including committing sexual assault. We specifically condemn the Iranian government’s attack on Kurdish cities in Iran and shooting at unarmed civilians. This is not a war when one side is not armed; it is a war crime.
So today, we need solidarity more than ever, to highlight “Woman, Life, Freedom,” the slogan we have borrowed from our Kurdish sisters to confront all aspects of state patriarchy, including militarization, oppression, colonialism, and capitalism. This slogan has the potential to bring together feminists from all around the world in their fight against femicide, execution, control over women’s bodies, gender segregation policies, feminization of poverty and work, destruction of the environment, and more.
Despite being in different geographical places, we all share similar experiences confronting different forms of systemic violence against women and LGBTQ+ communities. This shared experience creates grounds for solidarity. Today we know that a free and equal world is impossible unless we all actively build it and confront all forms of discrimination worldwide.
We believe in the connection between histories of feminist struggles. We know the struggle didn’t begin today, and we are standing on the shoulders of many big and small movements of the past. Our struggle in Iran gets deeper, side by side with the feminist struggles worldwide, and it creates a point in history that brings us closer to a transnational feminist revolution. Our statement is a step towards actualizing “women life freedom” and building solidarity to end the oppressive regime and systemic discrimination against women.
