JP: Western feminists must stand with Azerbaijani women in Iran

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JP: Western feminists must stand with Azerbaijani women in Iran

2026.01.31, 19:57

The Jerusalem Post published an article titled "Western feminists must stand with Azerbaijani women in Iran"

Gunaz.tv

The article draws attention to the difficult social difficulties of South Azerbaijani women in Iran.

"Azerbaijani women are situated at the intersection of gender-based repression and long-standing ethnic discrimination, which can compound vulnerability during periods of state crackdowns." - said human rights activist Turkan Bozkurt.

Ahmad Obali also shared his opinions:

“Today in South Azerbaijan, women are in the front lines of fighting this repressive theocratic regime. Nargis Mohammedi, who is a Nobel Peace laureate and serving a prison term in the notorious Evin Prison, is herself an Azerbaijani from Zanjan. Her ethnic identity has been omitted from international coverage of her.”

The article also draws attention to the difficulties of the non-Persian women in Iran.

"For decades, Azerbaijani women in Iran have been deprived of the right to study and work in their mother tongue. Whenever they protested against this, they faced arrest, torture, and even execution. The repression against minority languages has led to a situation where Iran Human Rights reported that the illiteracy rate for women stands at 20% in South Azerbaijan. This high illiteracy rate has adversely affected these women in their dealings with the Iranian judiciary. According to IHR, Ethnic regions such as South Azerbaijan are overrepresented in the women’s death penalty cases.”

Bozkurt noted that the Azerbaijani women in Iran who are joining the protests have a different list of priorities from their Persian feminist counterparts.

"While upper-class Persian women are passionate about fighting against mandatory hijab, an issue that affects all Iranian women, South Azerbaijani women have other, more pressing issues, such as honor killings, child brides, access to education and even environmental issues like access to water and food that exacerbate existing inequalities.”

Sociologist Sevil Suleymani sharing her opinion proclaimed that; “Azerbaijani women protested compulsory hijab, state violence, and gender apartheid just like other Iranian women. But they also protested something deeper: the erasure of their ethnic identity. Many Azerbaijani women were injured, arrested, or killed during the protests, but their Azerbaijani identity was often deliberately omitted in the media. They were framed only as 'Iranian women,' never as Azerbaijani women resisting both gender oppression and ethnic marginalization.”

To read the full article please click here.

GUNAZ.TV

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