In a conference on International Women’s Day thousands of women celebrated the role of Iranian women in the struggle for freedom in Iran and equal rights across the world. In the conference, held in Berlin, Ashraf 3 (Albania), and online, politicians, lawmakers, women’s rights activists, and members of the Iranian Resistance spoke of the recent developments in Iran and the world, and the role women can play in freeing Iran of tyranny.
The keynote speaker, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran underscored the resilience of Iranian women against the misogynist rule of the mullahs.
“International Women’s Day is a day of pride and honor for Iranian women. Because throughout this year, as in the past four decades, they have stood against the monster of misogyny, coercion, plunder, and oppression,” she said.
Mrs. Rajavi also stressed that the mullahs and their fundamentalist views of human and women’s rights do not represent the Iranian people.
“Horrific and expanding atrocities against Iranian women have nothing to do with the Iranian people’s culture. They result from the regime’s enmity towards women and its medieval nature.
“Despite their profound suffering, the two-year calamity during the Coronavirus pandemic and half-a-million fatalities, and widespread poverty and hunger, today Iranian women speak not about their grief but about hope for freedom and equality. They speak not about their pain but of a future that is not a distant dream and is achievable.
“After the mullahs’ overthrow, Iran will be safe from the bitter experiences of the past, only if there is a real democracy with freedom and equality. And you women are the ones who can make this happen.”
Despite their profound suffering, today Iranian women speak not about their grief but about hope for freedom and equality. They speak not about their pain but of a future that is not a distant dream and is achievable. #IWD2022 pic.twitter.com/WfiDXd32TW
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) March 5, 2022
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark, praised the resistance of Iranian women against all odds to obtain their rights.
“Women and girls in Iran are the prime victims of the misogynist machine. It would have been easier for them to stay home. But they did not do that. Iranian women have chosen a different path. They have not submitted to the regime. They have turned into a force for change in Iran,” she said.
Thorning-Schmidt also stressed that women’s rights in Iran are conditioned on the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime, and the movement to make it happen is one that is led by a woman.
“[Iranian women] know their rights will only be achieved with political change in Iran. They know they can’t achieve their lives under a misogynist regime,” she said. “It is remarkable that the NCRI is actually led by a Muslim woman, Maryam Rajavi. Her ten-point plan is a blueprint for the whole world to see that there is a democratic future for Iran. All democrats across the world should support this plan.”
Former German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer highlighted the stark contrast between the tyranny of the mullahs’ regime and the resistance of Iranian women.
“On the one hand, we see a fundamentalist regime, and on the other we see women as a force that believes they can change the system. A lot of women fight for their freedom even though they have to lay down their lives for a better Iran,” she said. “A great example is Maryam Rajavi, who has laid out a plan for the future of Iran that is liberated from discrimination, where men and women are equal, a country that is not a hub of fundamentalism and terrorism. We need to help the women to achieve freedom and equal rights.”
Former Columbian Senator and Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt spoke of the evolution of the role of women in the Iranian Resistance, and how they went from being oppressed to becoming the leading force of change in Iran.
“Our sisters in Iran have lived under tyranny. The new generations don’t have any experience of what a democratic environment means. They are risking everything; these young women have taken up the flag against the mullahs’ dictatorship. They have learned the hard way that tolerance of tyranny is not acceptable.
“Iranian women have reached a very important conclusion: they can only achieve their rights with a change of regime in Iran. Therefore, they must play their role in the resistance against the regime. But they have gone one step further. They realize that to achieve their goal they must take responsibility at all levels, including at the political level.”
Betancourt underlined that the resistance of Iranian women must be supported by a strong global policy that holds the regime to account for its many crimes and belligerent activities.
“It is time for the world community to unite and act. We call on the UN Security Council, the US government, and European governments to change their conciliatory policy toward Iran’s regime. In the case of Iran, the world must end the shameful approach of reaching a nuclear agreement with the regime. It is time to align ourselves with the people. Supporting the Iranian Resistance and the MEK is a duty of the world.”
“Discrimination imposed on Iranian women amounts to gender apartheid,” said former Albanian Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli.
Kodheli also contrasted the absence of women from political leadership in Iran and leadership of women in the Iranian Resistance and said, “Iranian women are at the forefront of all protests inside Iran. What does that mean for women who are suffering from gender apartheid across the world? Condemning suppression of women in Iran is not enough. We need to support these women in Iran and worldwide.”
Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security Advisor to the United States President, “It is not at all surprising that the sharp edge of the regime’s discriminatory policies is directed at women. We must acknowledge that the engagement of the US with Ebrahim Raisi, who is responsible for so many crimes against humanity, is offensive. We must not engage with him in nuclear talks. We can no longer sit idly by and see disturbing images of women abused, beaten, and shot in Iran, and think that it is a separate issue. We must ensure that women are treated equally in Iran.”
