Dear John,
As I write this letter, at least 83 people are dead in the wake of protests in Iran. Over the past several weeks, Iranians have taken to the streets, with many women removing their hijabs and chopping off their hair in protest of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the Islamic Republic’s morality police for not properly wearing her head covering, and died while in custody. In cities all across the country, Iranian people are risking their lives and futures to stand up to a regime built on the oppression of women — and they aren’t planning on backing down any time soon.
As Iranian human rights lawyer and long-time friend of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh wrote in Ms. recently, international solidarity is necessary for the collective liberation of women in Iran, the U.S., and all around the world. “The movement for women’s rights in Iran has experienced many setbacks, but it perseveres because my country is full of people who care about fairness and justice,” she said. “We continue to call for employment rights, the right to divorce, the right to abortion, the right to wear clothes freely, the right to custodianship over our children, and thousands of other rights that are now routinely violated.”
“I stand by you, my sisters, so that through our solidarity as women, we triumph over oppression and make the world safer and better for generations to come.”
Sotoudeh also expressed fear about the landscape of women’s rights in the U.S. post-Dobbs v. Jackson ruling — warning that the overturn of Roe does not bode well for global women’s rights. This week saw further restrictions come down in Arizona, where the state reinstated a near-total abortion ban passed in 1864 before Arizona even became a state. The ban outlaws almost all abortions in the state in addition to penalizing abortion providers with two to five years in prison.
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. this week, women lawmakers and feminist leaders continued to go to bat for women’s rights at the federal level. On Wednesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Illinois v. Ferriero—a lawsuit brought against the national archivist to compel him to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Fifty-two years ago, Shirley Chisholm stood on the House floor in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, and here we are today, still fighting for the same rights,” said Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence (D-Mich), co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus. “We need the ERA to ensure that the rights of women and girls will not be rolled back by any political trend, but instead, be preserved as basic rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.”
Whether it’s women lawmakers in the U.S. standing up to GOP abortion restrictions, Iranian women taking to the streets in protest with their heads bared, or even women journalists like Christiane Amanpour refusing to cover their hair while interviewing Iranian leaders, we know women will continue to stand up for what is right in the face of global injustice and patriarchy. And here at Ms., we’ll continue bringing you the news so you too can take action for equality and justice.
