A Special Report: Movement Building in Iran

On July 26, 2006, Ashraf Kalhori, a 37 year old mother of four, learned that her sentence of death by stoning was about to be carried out. Until that point, the punishment of stoning, which had officially been under a moratorium since 2002, had remained a taboo topic in Iranian public discourse. Ms. Kalhori’s case, however, mobilized a group of lawyers and transnational women’s activists who were concerned that this unmentionable punishment was in fact becoming more commonplace. From this seed, the “Stop Stoning Forever” campaign, and ultimately the work of Women’s Field (Meydaan), a trailblazing website and network of women’s rights activists in Iran, took root.

During the past two years, Women’s Field has become a hub for numerous women’s advocacy campaigns in the country, united in challenging patriarchal, non-democratic, and gender-discriminatory systems in the public and private spheres. Following its launch, the “Stop Stoning Forever” campaign succeeded in saving the lives of four women and one man who were condemned to stoning, as well as preventing the stoning of three other women. It also broke the taboo on raising the issue of stoning in the media. While this campaign continued to grow, throughout Iran other women’s rights campaigns were also building momentum. Some activists, especially those living near border areas, were campaigning to obtain Iranian nationality for children whose mothers were Iranian citizens married to Afghan or Iraqi men, while others worked to pave the way for women fans to have open access into football stadiums. Women’s Field distributed pamphlets at the start of national football games in Tehran, and disseminated a petition demanding that the International Federation of Football (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation enforce non-discrimination provisions in FIFA’s Codes of Ethics.

Other advocacy has focused on legislation, such as the recently debated "Family Protection Bill" that was designed to strengthen the patriarchal family system through measures such as virtually eliminating restrictions on polygamy and imposing a tax on the dowry received by the wife. Among the grassroots activities coordinated by Women’s Field to halt this discriminatory bill was a direct mail campaign from network members throughout the country, sending over 2,000 cards to members of parliament protesting the bill. This mail campaign was an effective tool in halting the ratification process of the Family Protection Bill in parliament. Women’s Field is also working to address a bill concerning the law on Islamic Penal Code and other pieces of legislation, including the “Program for Social Security Improvement,” that have meant daily insecurity for women in public places and streets. The student branch of women’s rights activists has also taken an active role in an issue of vital importance to young women, protesting the implementation of gender quotas in higher education that would place limits on the number of women admitted to universities. To that end they have distributed informational brochures at universities, and proposed the organization of a student protest on International Women's Day. Volunteer Lawyers Network, an active component of Women’s Field, has helped them pursue the case in the Administrative Justice Bureau.

On the outset of its second anniversary, Women's Field decided to publish a comprehensive analysis of the women's situation in Iran, addressing problems facing the women's movement, as well as the discourse and approach born of it. Through this document, Women’s Field seeks to offer a forum that will further illuminate the women’s rights discourse, welcoming commentary and generating dialogue with other groups who are concerned with women’s rights and other social justice issues. For more information, please visit http://www.meydaan.com/english/.