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Woman Life Freedom Uprising Main MenuWoman, Life, FreedomIran, Islam & the InevitableContextualizing the Islamization of IranThe Making of the Modern WomanIcons & Personas of Woman Life FreedomOrigins of the UprisingFreedom through the FemaleThe Writing in the MarginsNasleh Zed's Youthful UprisingSoundtracking Woman Life FreedomUrban Canvases of the UprisingFeminist Placemaking of a Digital UprisingAfterlives of Woman, Life, FreedomWLF ResourcesHere you will find our sources all compiled in one placeNahid Siamdoust - UT Austin Iran Collab Networka897e5b6082169b816946b1032f8b3c01e62c1ee
1/Screen Shot 2024-10-27 at 6.22.14 PM.png2024-10-27T14:29:10-07:00Erasing Jin, Jiyan, Azadî17The Overlooked Contributions of Minorities in the Woman, Life, Freedom Movementimage_header2024-12-08T14:26:17-08:00Mahsa Jina Amini, as a minority woman in Iran, faced systemic discrimination. Growing up, she had to adapt to the dominant Persian lifestyle to avoid being targeted. Unfortunately, even within the Women, Life, Freedom movement, the contributions of Kurds have often been erased or minimized in favor of Persianization (Ghaderi, Page 721).
The slogan "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom) originates from Kurdish women and was first used during the Kurdish women’s liberation movement during in the 1980s. Yet its Kurdish roots are rarely acknowledged. It was transformed into the Persian version, "Zan, Zendegi, Azadi," overshadowing its true origins. Though Kurds played a crucial role in starting the movement, they were often ignored by mainstream Iranian media. Displaying Kurdish flags during Women Life Freedom protests became controversial, with reports of Kurds being excluded and kicked out for showing them (Ghaderi, Page 721).
Above is a Kurdish resistance song titled “برای FOR بۆ” by Chia Madani, which targets issues toward the kurdish population after Mahsa Jina Aminis passing.
In the song, the line "For Jina, who was not allowed neither in life nor after death" emphasizes the deep-rooted discrimination Mahsa faced. Even when alive, she couldn’t publicly use her Kurdish name, "Jina," out of fear of backlash, instead adopting the Persian name "Mahsa." Was she truly living if she couldn’t express her Kurdish identity?
Also, another instance of discrimination against minority women is “a fifteen year old Baloch girl who was taken in for interrogation by the police commander of chabahar when according to the Baloch activist campaign, she was raped” (Azizi, Page 93). Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon reality for minority women in Iran. They are not only marginalized due to their gender but also because of their ethnic backgrounds, which subjects them to extreme levels of state violence and and cultural suppression.
Although Mahsa Jina Amini paved the way for the Women, Life, Freedom movement and sparked a revolution that raised global awareness, the struggles of minority women like her are often overlooked. Her death sparked widespread protests, but the deep discrimination faced by Kurdish women and other minorities continues to be overshadowed.
Ghaderi, Farangis. “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi and the Historical Erasure of Kurds.” International Journal Middle East Studies 55, no. 4 (November 1, 2023): 718–23. https://doi.org/10.1017/s002074382300137x.
