A TEDx presentation by the NCRI-US Deputy-Director Alireza Jafarzadeh, July 1, 2024
By integrating personal and professional experience, Mr. Alireza Jafarzadeh argues that the key to the success of the freedom movement in Iran, which would have a global impact, is the leadership role of women who have paid the price for freedom in Iran.
Mr. Alireza Jafarzadeh, a well-known author, Middle East commentator, and a prominent Iranian dissident figure, is known for revealing the major nuclear sites of Iran. Mr. Jafarzadeh is the author of The Iran Threat and is an accomplished analyst, frequently appearing on major television and radio broadcasts, writing for or being quoted in acclaimed news outlets such as Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters, and speaking in various forums, including on Capitol Hill and major universities across the United States.
Mr. Jafarzadeh has advocated for democracy, women’s rights, and human rights. He is the Deputy Director of the US Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US), which has gained bi-partisan majority support in U.S. Congress as well as thousands of parliamentarians around the globe. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Text of the TedX talk
Remarks by Alireza Jafarzadeh at TEDxFoggyBottom
Nations around the world have witnessed the impressive ascent of women in the movement to liberate Iran. Fighting against their oppressive rulers, Iranian women have emerged as irreplaceable leaders. But, as the movement unfolds, we must ask ourselves how deep it runs. Where is it heading? Where did it originate? What ripple effects might it have for individuals worldwide?
Let’s look back to see how it all started.
In 1979, there was a genuine revolution in Iran that ended monarchy for good. The people revolted against the despotic rule of the Shah, who had declared a single-party rule, had a notorious secret police called SAVAK, and tortured and murdered intellectuals.
I was a student at the time who had become an activist with high hopes and dreams for freedom. I envisioned myself as a future engineer who could help build our nation.
Unfortunately, the leadership of that revolution was hijacked by the clerics, whose despotic agenda was more repression.
They installed the absolute dictatorship of the unelected Supreme Leader.
In the summer after the revolution, while in Iran, I witnessed people’s cherished freedom taken away. Right in front of our house, which was across from the University of Mashhad, the second most populated city in Iran, I witnessed people being beaten up by government forces, as things were getting worse every day.
The regime drained all the resources of the nation into the hands of a newly formed military known as the Revolutionary Guards, tasked with keeping the regime in power.
They misused religion to justify their barbarism in the modern era, including their forced hijab and lashing and stoning to the death of women. Indeed, compulsory hijab, religion, and government are all contrary to the spirit of Islam, which is freedom and choice.
The regime views women as second-class citizens, relegating them solely to the domestic sphere and childbearing.
Eighty-six percent of Iranian women of working age remain inactive, serving as the first casualties of exploitation. Barring women from joining the workforce caps the economic capabilities of Iran, negatively affecting all citizens.
Since day one, the regime spared no savagery to prevent women from leading social change in Iran.
Let me give you one example early on: Following the peaceful demonstration of half a million people on June 20, 1981, protesting torture and repression, the regime executed 12 girls who had participated in the protest, all of them minors, without even establishing their identities.
This is the state-run Etelaat newspaper, publishing pictures of these girls, taken right after their arrest and before their execution, asking their parents to identify them.
During the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, the regime hanged 30,000, many of them women, based on a handwritten religious decree by then-Supreme Leader, condemning to death anyone who remained loyal to the main Iranian opposition movement.
And the murder of those seeking change has continued ever since, as the regime has murdered thousands of protesters, including teenagers and women, during the protests over the past five years.
Here is a collection of the photos, names, and particulars of tens of thousands of those who have fallen for freedom in Iran. From 13-year-old teenage girls to elderly mothers of several children, from university students and professors to superstar athletes whose only crime was to stand for freedom.
There were even whole families murdered, including the nine members of the Alemzadeh family; among them was 22-year-old Batool Alemzadeh. She was murdered along with her daughter and her husband, Ali Ghafouri.
Actually, Ali was my best friend and classmate, and we were inseparable in high school. Sitting in class next to each other was not enough. Everyday, he would come from far to my house so we could walk to school and back together and talk on the way. He was full of passion and compassion. He loved sports; we were both on the basketball team. He was a brilliant student who made me better and helped me get into my desired engineering university in Iran.
Shortly after the revolution, Batool and Ali became active against the regime. The Revolutionary Guards raided their house and killed Ali and their one-year-old daughter, Nasrin, on the spot. Batool was arrested while injured and underwent torture but refused to cooperate with the regime. She was later executed while pregnant.
The murder of Ali’s entire family, including their unborn child, had a significant impact on me, inspiring me to continue this path. I am standing before you today so that in the future, no families will be perished, no little girls will be murdered, and no pregnant women will be executed.
But there is another side to this coin.
The desire of the ruling clerics to crush any voices of dissent utterly failed. Against all odds, a new phenomenon rose out of the ashes of repression in Iran.
I have spoken directly with dozens of female victims who spent years in Iranian prisons. They came face to face with the beast and underwent excruciating tortures meant to crush and silence them forever.
Instead, I found determined women committed to fighting oppression, not only for themselves but, most importantly, for the liberation of the whole nation.
The torture of female political prisoners has included rape. Yet, the female political prisoners have turned the prisons into another battleground to challenge the clerical rulers.
Yes, the new phenomenon has been the ascent of women in leadership in the fight for Iran’s liberation.
However, the leadership of women in the Iranian Resistance required and represents a new revolution, which is rebelling against an ideology entrenched in misogyny.
Thus, the women in the Resistance surpassed outdated notions of appearance and age and emerged as symbols of determination, embracing the mantra of “we can, and we must.”
Does women’s leadership mean to simply replace men with women? No.
Women’s leadership is a revolt against a deep-rooted ideology built on the exploitation of women.
It is a revolt against a male-dominated ideology that sees women as commodities that can be owned.
This ideology enslaves both women and men.
Indeed, women’s liberation is a prerequisite for men’s liberation. This way, women and men, together, can liberate Iran.
Through this process, women assumed leadership positions in the Iranian opposition movement against the regime. It was not easy—it is easier said than done—but the endurance of women leaders over four decades paid off.
Indeed, the forty years of women’s leadership in the resistance against tyranny became a role model for the new generation, including Gen Z, to take to the streets and show incredible courage and leadership.
During the several rounds of nationwide uprisings since 2017, which engulfed all 31 provinces of Iran, the Iranian people have sought freedom. The brave women of Iran have been at the forefront, playing a pivotal role in maintaining the focus on fighting the regime when they chanted, “With or without hijab, onward toward the revolution,” making it very clear that the fight in Iran is about nothing but freedom and the liberation of the whole nation.
They have elevated the slogans in the streets to “Woman, Resistance, Freedom,” making it clear that freedom in Iran will only be achieved through resistance.
So, where are we heading?
There will come a time when dehumanizing women will be condemned as a dark chapter in our collective past. Instead, each woman will be valued as autonomous to govern her life with absolute authority.
A time will dawn when no woman will be judged by her appearance, clothing, or private life.
What about the future of Iran?
Imagine a free, democratic republic of Iran that separates religion from state, espouses gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a free market economy, considers the ballot box as the sole criteria for legitimacy, abolishes the death penalty, abolishes Sharia law, supports peace in the Middle East, takes care of its environment, and seeks a non-nuclear Iran.
Imagine how an Iran, based on this Ten-Point Plan of the Iranian Resistance, would help dry out terrorism and Islamic extremism in the region and positively impact societies globally.
So, what are the chances?
Remember that significant changes in history have started from a small group of committed citizens, the underdogs. Now is the time for the Iranian women to be recognized for what they are: the force for change that will bring down the most barbaric dictatorship in contemporary history.
I want to close with a personal note. The most amazing experience of my life has been witnessing the unwavering dedication of the women and men in the Iranian Resistance to free their nation.
As someone who has gone through that experience, I am proud to testify that in the struggle for the liberation of Iran, there is nothing more liberating than accepting the leadership of women who have sacrificed everything for freedom.
The triumph of freedom over the theocracy in Iran is inevitable, and it will be spearheaded by a generation of courageous women who have never collaborated with nor submitted to any despots.
Indeed, the liberation of Iran will be a significant and a first fold toward making the world a better place for humanity. That day will come.
Thank you very much.