Iran’s Uprising: Women, Workers, and the Struggle for Freedom

The role of women in this uprising is historic and decisive. Women are standing side by side with men, and despite brutal repression, women and young people continue to remain in the streets. The scale of the regime’s violence is unbearable, yet people have made a clear decision: they will not return home until the regime is defeated. The state is deploying all its forces, national troops and violent paramilitary groups, to attack the population. Hundreds of lumpen paramilitary elements have been sent to confront protesters directly, leading to hundreds of injuries and deaths.

These groups often attend demonstrations disguised as civilians. They deliberately target women through public humiliation, naming and shaming, and physical attacks. In some cases, young women have been kidnapped and raped to terrorise society and force people off the streets. At the same time, many videos show protesters, especially from the younger generation, actively protecting women and girls. This revolutionary self-defence is not spontaneous; it has developed through years of street resistance against the regime.

Two days ago, the regime shut down the internet across the entire country to hide its crimes from the world. Meanwhile, right-wing forces and foreign powers, including Trump and his allies such as Netanyahu, falsely present themselves as supporters of the protests. Their aim is not freedom for the people of Iran, but to hijack the uprising for their own political interests. Through deceptive messages, they seek to redirect the revolution toward another imposed regime-change project, this time attempting to restore the monarchy that the people themselves overthrew through sacrifice and struggle.

The reality in the streets is fundamentally different from the agenda of far-right forces. Thousands of students, doctors, nurses, and teachers have joined the demonstrations, chanting “Freedom” and “All power to the people.” Their message is clear: only through struggle in the streets and reliance on our own collective power can we win our rights. Socialist and left-wing forces promote this path, while nationalist and monarchist groups push for a return to dictatorship. The conflict between these two alternatives is intensifying.

This uprising is broader and more powerful than previous ones, but the danger of mass violence by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and paramilitary forces is extremely high. Further killings, especially of women and young people, could be used as a pretext for unprecedented repression. Therefore, international solidarity and urgent action by human rights and women’s rights organizations are more necessary than ever. Stopping the killing of protesters must be the highest priority.

Workers, women, students, pensioners, and political prisoners, many of whom resisted long before this uprising, are now united in a powerful movement to end the regime. The alternative we must defend is clear: a future based on freedom, equality, economic security, and social rights.

Let us stand firmly for this alternative: a Council-Based Government.
Let us be the voice of women and all protesters in the struggle to defeat the Islamic regime in Iran.

Condemn the brutality of the Iranian regime.
Stop killing protesters.
Stop executions.
Free all political prisoners now.

Long Life Socialism!