Women's activism in Iran continues, despite street protests dying down in face of state repression

An Iranian woman not wearing a mandatory headscarf walks past a group of young women who cover their hair in November 2023. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Large-scale protests that erupted in 2022 across Iran, centering on women’s rights, captured the world’s attention.

Iranians peacefully protested in the streets of places ranging from Tehran to small towns across the country, chanting, “Woman, life, freedom.” The protests reflected many Iranians’ growing frustration with the political regime in power since 1979 – and its ongoing violation of citizens’ basic rights, especially those of women and other historically marginalized groups.