Joan Karmi

Kamyaran- In an interview with NuJINHA, an Iranian female poet talked about the challenges faced by women and girls in Iran. She asked us not to use her real name for security reasons so we call her Joman Hosseinzadeh in this article. She noted that women and girls in Iran are oppressed by the patriarchal mentality. “My family never allowed us, girls, to wear comfortable clothes at home and outside while my brothers had the right to wear whatever they wanted,” she told NuJINHA.

‘We are aware of the discrimination’

Underlining that girls and women did not have the right to make decisions, she said, “My family never asked us our thoughts. Whenever we expressed our thoughts, we were rebuked. This is a discrimination. We are aware of the discrimination against us by our family and society. For instance, my family decided with whom I had to marry. I was forced into marriage by my family. In Iran, families do not care about the thoughts and future of girls. They do not care about what girls think and face. Women and girls do not have the right to make decisions about their lives.”

Joman Hosseinzadeh thinks women are oppressed because they are not economically independent. “Women face many problems because they are not economically independent. They depend on their fathers, brothers and husbands. Women should be economically independent so that they feel safer and make decisions on their own lives. Economic independence for women can end the discrimination against them in many fields such as in legal, political, cultural and social fields.”

‘Women will have the life that they deserve’

Speaking about the Jin, jiyan, azadi uprising that started in Iran and Rojhilat following the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini, Joman Hosseinzadeh said, “The Jin, jiyan, azadi uprising is a historical milestone in the lives of women in Iran. Everyone, particularly women, deserve to live in a free and equal society.  Political changes affect the situation of women in Iran. When politics changes in our country, women will have the life that they deserve like women living in developed countries, where women enjoy freedom and equality.”