(Video) Iran: International Women Day 2023 Conference in Brussels– IWD2023
On Saturday, March 4, honoring International Women’s Day, a conference titled “Women’s Leadership Guarantees Democracy and Equality” is being held. In This event, a range of influential women leaders from around the world focuses on the Iranian revolution.
Maryam Rajavi: "greetings to all the courageous women who have sacrificed for Iran’s democratic revolution, enduring immense suffering and torture. These are the women who have been arrested and tortured, some losing their sight and even their lives."
Linda Chavez: "This has been a momentous year in Iran. It’s been a year of protests, sparked initially by the brutal killing of Marsha Amini, who was murdered simply for being a woman. Girls who are going to school are being literally poisoned throughout Iran."
Mrs. Rajavi: "celebrate International Women’s Day, we send our warmest greetings to the women commanding the uprising in Iran and to the Resistance Units."
The conference focuses on the Iranian revolution and the leadership of women in shaping the future of the country.
NCRI Women Committee Chairwoman Sarvnaz Chitsaz
Because of 43 years of oppression, Iranian women have taken a leading role in the struggle against the regime. Iranian women have a strong history of struggle against dictatorial rule. After the overthrow of the Shah’s dictatorial regime, hundreds of thousands of women led by the PMOI began to expose the repressive policies of the mullahs’ regime. Despite facing harassment, women actively participated in all meetings, gatherings, and political and electoral campaigns of the resistance for 2 1/2 years.
On June 1981, when Khomeini ordered the killing and suppression of all PMOI and other political groups, many women were arrested alongside men and imprisoned.
For the PMOI, which was engaged in the fight with the mullahs’ misogynist regime, it was clear that without the woman playing a role and being empowered and promoted for which they were fully qualified, it would have been impossible to overthrow the Iranian regime and establish democracy.
In our resistance against the misogynist policies of the clerical regime, the leading and impressive role of women in the uprising is the result of this 44-year struggle. Naturally, the indispensable role of Mrs. Rajavi, the NCRI president-elect, in achieving equality and the empowerment of all women is outstanding.
Linda Chavez, former White House Director of Public Liaison
This has been a momentous year in Iran. It’s been a year of unprecedented protests, sparked initially by the brutal killing, the murder, of Marsha Amini, who was murdered simply for being a woman. It isn’t just women who are protesting and who are the targets of this regime. It’s schoolgirls. Girls who are going to school are being literally poisoned throughout Iran.
There has been, for decades now, an organization and a group that has fought the regime. And that, of course, is the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK). And it is led by a woman. Maryam Rajavi has been a leader of this organization for decades. And she has been someone who has been fearlessly standing up to the regime in Tehran.
And she has put together, as you have seen, a ten-point plan that is a model for the kind of government, the kind of future for the people of Iran that she has been working for, and that includes not just the right to pick their own leaders, but also the right of an independent judiciary, the right of a free press, the right of non-discrimination, and the right to be able to worship.
We have seen almost six months of protests in Iran. But it is going to take more than just protests. To be able to turn out this regime, the people must rise up. They must get rid of the theocratic leaders who have been leading that country for so many years. They must say no to theocracy. They must say yes to democracy. They must say yes to the leadership of an organization like the NCRI, like its leader, Maryam Rajavi, who wants to bring freedom and justice to the people of Iran.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI):
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we send our warmest greetings to the pioneering women commanding the uprising in Iran and to the brave women of the Resistance Units. We pay tribute to the 83 women who became martyrs during the uprising, from Mahsa Amini to Zarbibi Ismail Zehi in Zahedan.
We extend our infinite greetings to all the courageous women who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for Iran’s democratic revolution, enduring immense suffering and torture. These are the women who have been arrested, tortured, and brutally attacked, some losing their sight and even their lives under torture.
First and foremost, we express our sympathies to the parents of the students affected by the chain poisoning of schoolgirls in various cities and regions of Iran, and we salute their resistance and protest against this criminal regime. The poisoning of these students has been ongoing for three months, and there is no doubt that it is organized and ordered by the regime. Khamenei’s office is seeking revenge on the girls who played a decisive role in the recent uprising in Iran and is attempting to terrorize them.
Once again, we urge the United Nations, particularly relevant agencies such as UNICEF and the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, to investigate and respond firmly.
This year’s International Women’s Day has gained a unique radiance and unparalleled credibility, all thanks to the remarkable bravery of Iranian women who have risen up against the oppressive mullahs’ regime. This is what makes this year different from all the past years because it has revealed a great truth: women play a unique role in shaping society’s destiny. A century ago, women fought for the right to vote, and today, they are fighting to change the world, from one of barbarism into a world of freedom, justice, and equality.
In the current uprising, female students have taken the lead in most protests in 204 universities. Furthermore, out of the 1,776 schools where students joined the uprising, 1,186 were girls’ schools. The uprising and the unparalleled heroism of Iranian women have captivated the attention of the world.
After the June 17, 2003, attack on the Iranian Resistance, women had no other option but to self-immolate to resist the conspiracy of the mullahs in France, especially the so-called reformist mullahs.
If these atrocities against Iranian women had been kept hidden in the darkness of silence and complacency for years, fortunately, the world has now opened its eyes. Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs appropriately stated in a conference with colleagues on October 26 that “We see our humanity in them [Iranian women],” and Le Point described it as “an uprising inspired by women of incredible courage” in its editorial on November 22.
Yes, these flames of freedom and equality that you see, this courage that inspires the world, will be followed by storms. The day will come when the women of Iran will overthrow the religious tyranny of the mullahs.
Iran’s risen women, following the path of pioneering women, have presented a new meaning for life. Nasrin Qaderi, a daughter of the people of Marivan in Kurdistan, was pursuing her Ph.D. in philosophy before being murdered. She wrote, “Don’t make us scared of death, we have lived it.” Several of them also died under torture, including Atefeh Na’ami in Karaj, or Ayda Rostami, the compassionate physician who treated injured protesters in Tehran.
But today, a democratic revolution is unfolding in Iran. The defiant girls from Tehran to Zahedan are shouting, “With or without the hijab, onward to the revolution!” They want a democratic republic without a turban or crown, defined by freedom, popular sovereignty, and free elections. They were chanting, retrogression and dictatorship must be eradicated.
The mullahs sought to prevent women from playing a crucial role in overthrowing the religious dictatorship in Iran. For 30 years, we have been saying that the rise of women will ignite the uprising. So, woe to the mullahs, for they will be struck with a fatal blow from where they had never imagined: from women and their unyielding determination to overthrow the mullahs’ misogynistic regime.
For years, even during the current uprising, it was ironic that the regime’s media and Khamenei’s Friday prayer leaders questioned why PMOI women wore the hijab. After all, for 44 years, Khomeini, Khamenei, and the deceitful fundamentalist mullahs have tried to convince Iranian society that the enemy of their rights and freedoms is not the mullahs’ regime, but rather the enemy of is United States, Iraq, or Jerusalem. This was despite the fact that the regime waged an eight-year war with Iraq, using the slogan of conquering Jerusalem via Karbala in Iraq.
I repeatedly emphasize that this is the primary conflict that has drawn a line between the PMOI and this regime for 44 years, even during the darkest and most prolonged periods in Iran’s history, and during the country’s most challenging, complicated, painful, and blood-soaked organized resistance. The very Resistance movement that Massoud Rajavi initiated by differentiating between freedom and regression from day one.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former German Minister of Defense (2019-2021)
The images coming from Iran humble me. I ask myself, would I have the power to take to the streets, to let my children go out and fight against the regime? This strength, especially in the women in Iran, is a sign of humanism and decisiveness that goes far beyond the borders of Iran. You are an inspiration for the world.
That’s why we are here. Ahead of International Women’s Day, we are here to say no to a regime that destroys its own future, a regime that does not believe in peace, and a regime that fears people deciding their own politics. We want to say yes to a free Iran, a democratic Iran, and an international policy that supports the people of Iran not just in words but also in action.
Dominique Attias, President of European Law Society Federation, vice-boutonniere of Paris, Recipient of France’s Légion d’Honneur- 2011
The women of Iran are the forgotten power of the world. Today, Iranian women are leading the struggle. This is the only revealing part of the long struggle by all women in Iran, of all ages, all regions, generation after generation.
The people of Iran are shouting no to Shah, no to mullahs. People want freedom and democracy. They don’t want forced religious laws. They reject the dictatorship of Khamenei and all factions of the regime. They are saying down to the dictator, Shah, and mullahs.
After the revolution, the regime tried to impose a forced veil. Women should be able to choose their own garments. Let’s get rid of all laws that go against women. These laws are made by men who think women are objects. But women want freedom. And today, they are paying a high price for it. Countless people were arrested and tortured. But they were not broken. We admire them and support them. The women of the world will stand by your side. We call on the European Commission to stop talking to the devil. The women of Iran have faced the devil many times in prison cells.
Latifa Aït Baala, Member of the Parliament of Brussels
As a woman, I’ve taken part in many campaigns for freedom and democracy. But something has changed. The fight has to go on. We must increase our struggle. There is a new trend of democracy in Iran. Iranian people have led a long struggle and the objective of liberating Iran from theocracy seems to be finally close. By fighting for women’s rights and human rights, we can bring about freedom.
The regime killed 750 people without reason and arrested 30,000 people without a warrant. Even going through these difficult times, even when facing death, the women of Iran keep on fighting not only for themselves but for all the people of Iran.
Prof. Yakın Ertürk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (2003-2006)
I have witnessed first-hand how gendered subordination and misogynist laws and attitudes have been woven into the fiber of the Islamic Republic, which is one of its most distinguishing features.
Since 1979, the hijab had come to symbolize the relationship between woman’s resistance on the one hand, and the mullahs, gender politics on the other.
Despite the countless attempts of the Islamic State to wind back the clock, gender relations have continued to change over the years. Iran today is not what it was back in 1979. Today, Iran is highly urbanized.
Kathleen Depoorter, Member of the Belgian Parliament
There are more than 50 organizations fighting for women’s rights. We couldn’t do this here in Belgium. You could do it. It is great that you took the courage to organize all this.
Today, we should celebrate women’s rights. But instead of that, we’re fighting for fundamental female rights in Iran. And we should stand up and continue, and we should never give up. The reason I stand here with you and with all these brave women in Iran who took up the uprising is that I truly believe in the justice of your cause, of our cause, of the women’s cause.
As a politician, it is my mission to support every organization and every human being who fosters women’s rights all over the world.
Canadian MP and former Minister Judy A. Sgro
I would have never imagined a year ago or when I was in Ashraf 3 last summer that all of what has happened would bring us to where we are today, celebrating International Women’s Day here, focusing on the women of all of the world because there’s a lot of oppressed women in various capacities and so on. And we are very focused today on giving courage to all Iranian women that continue to be part of this, Madam Rajavi and the thousands of women in Ashraf 3 that continue to work for freedom and for democracy.
The IRGC is nothing short of a terrorist organization. But we have parts of the world that don’t recognize that.
Candice Bergen Harris, MP, Leader of Canada’s Conservative Party (2022)
You are not alone in this fight. I and so many others stand with you, and we will do everything we can do. Politically, legislatively, as well as practices to help you in the fight that you are undertaking. And when I talk about legislatively and politically, I’m talking about things like Canada naming the IRGC as a terrorist organization. That is something that we can do, and we need to do.
The women of Iran, the people of Iran are also born for such a time as this. Your courage, your sacrifice, and your commitment. And when I think of Mrs. Rajavi, I think of so many of you, there are several pictures that come to my mind. One is of an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Rama Yade, former French Minister of Human Rights
By demonstrating in the streets, the Iranian people are demanding changes for their most fundamental freedoms. These are legitimate demands that should not be repressed.
The global momentum generated by the death of Mahsa Amini must be followed by concrete steps by the international community to address the crisis of impunity in the country.
Shahin Gobadi
NCRI
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Iranian Resistance hosted an international conference in honor of International Women’s Day, where several renowned women leaders from Europe and the U.S.
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