The film series ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ (Zan, Zendegi, Azadi) is an initiative of the Red de Igualdad Intercentros CSIC+UAM in solidarity with the protest movement that began in Iran following the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022 while under arrest by the Iranian morality police.
Inspired by UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the initiative will run from 17 November to 15 December 2023, including 25N, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10D, Human Rights Day.
The murder of Jina Mahsa Amini sparked huge demonstrations in Iran under the slogan ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’. During the protests, more than 500 demonstrators were killed, thousands were injured and at least 20,000 people were arrested (source: The Iran Primer). A year after her assassination, protests continue in Iran.
With this film series, we want to join our voices to those of the protesters and pay tribute to all those who risk being killed, tortured or executed for their struggle in defense of human rights.
We also pay tribute to the activists who fight every day for women’s rights in Iran, and applaud the Nobel Committee for awarding the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize to Narges Mohammadi “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her struggle to promote human rights and freedom for all”, and the European Parliament for awarding the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.
We join the voices of activists like human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for defending women’s rights in Iran. Her fight to uphold the rule of law in Iran is featured in the 2020 documentary Nasrin.
The following films will be screened on:
- 17 November – Persepolis
- 24 November – The day I became a woman
- 1 December – Life and a Day
- 15 December – Inside the Iranian uprising
at 15:00 in the Red Room of the Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Nicolás Cabrera 13-15, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28046, Madrid.
