IRAN: Women at Forefront of Iranian Protests

Iranian women are not the type of women who remain silent and consider themselves lesser than men. Unfortunately, after their revolution, women's rights have been violated. Today, we see that women are ahead of men in the rightful protests. No matter what results from the current crisis, majority of them believe that women, who make up about 65 percent of Iran's university students, will keep pushing for more rights. Some in Iran are calling for June 20 the day of the violent crackdown on protesters become known as “Neda's Day”, in memory of Neda, who has become an icon of the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran. Neda Agha Soltan was reportedly killed when hit by a bullet during a protest in Iran. Effat Hashemi, the wife of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was among the firsts to call for public protests in the event of fraud. It's not clear if Hashemi participated in any of the protests but her daughter; Faezeh Hashemi did and was briefly detained for her actions. At the time of their elections, many Iranian women say they voted for the presidential candidates who addressed women's issues in their campaigns and both promised more rights to Iranian women. During demonstrations in Tehran and other cities, women of all ages and segments of society were seen at the forefront of protests. Some were holding banners, chanting slogans and defying police. But eyewitnesses say that when it came to the crackdown, security forces treated the protesters equally. Zahra Gholamipour, the leader of Iran's Pan-Iranist party tells that women in Iran have always played an active role in the society, despite the discriminations they face. In the protests, Iranian women showed up again how strong they are. Clearly, women are demanding more from the Government of Iran. “Strong women” is almost redundant that they feel they have found their voice is monumental. Such strength of character is awe-inspiring.