November 24, 2019
Urgent solidarity needed for Iranian protesters
Across the Middle East and North Africa, working people are rising up to fight for their rights. Women are in the lead in many of these struggles. As was observed in a letter initiated by the Alliance of Middle Eastern Socialists, co-signed by members of Radical Women and socialist feminists from many countries,
"The protesters' demands for the overthrow of regimes and the challenge to all the ruling factions, regional and global powers, reveal that the desire for a radical transformation in life and labor is alive and well... In all the ongoing struggles in the region, the most progressive demands have been raised by women participants who oppose patriarchy and do not separate social justice from women's emancipation."
In Iran, the month began with the regime being forced by public pressure to release a half-dozen well-known feminist and radical political prisoners. However, when mass protests erupted on November 15 over an increase in fuel prices, the police state clamped down. There are reports of more than 200 protesters killed and thousands arrested. The internet was shut down across the whole country so that no information was available and exiled Iranians could not communicate with their families and friends.
Please help build awareness of this attack on human rights and show your support for the Iranian people, including the many brave feminists who have been fighting state control of their lives and building solidarity with embattled workers.
Download this poster and take photos with it of yourself and friends to post on your own social media. Please send copies to Radical Women so we can spread the solidarity by sharing on our social media. Other recommended Twitter hashtags are #IranProtests #IranBloodshed #Internet4Iran
Women and other oppressed people are rising up in the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and around the world. Their fight is our fight!