The Democratic Organisation of Iranian Women, the DOIW, the oldest oranisation in Iran campaigning for women’s rights, has appeals for solidarity.

The Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on the protests that began on 28^th December 2025, has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent women and men, as well as many children.

The protest began with the strike of one section of the grand bazaar in Tehran and was soon joined by youth, and men and women from all walks of life. The trigger for these protests was the sharp drop in the value of the national currency, the toman, to around a quarter of its value, against the dollar. This has had a devastating impact on people’s purchasing power for basic goods and food. The country’s economy, based on the neoliberal agenda set by imperialist institutions, has been brought to its knees following severe sanctions, and due to the regime’s mismanagement, rampant corruption, a rentier economy, insecurity and constant violations of human rights.

The most common slogan in the demonstrations up and down the country was the end to dictatorship and the rule of the Supreme religious leader. In a short time, the protests had spread to around 180 towns and cities across the country. Once again, women’s presence in the protests was clear to see. 

Iran has experienced protests demanding basic human rights and economic improvement, such as the uprisings of 2017-2018, the protests of 2019, or the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in 2023. This time, the politically bankrupt Reza Pahlavi set out to claim the protests as evidence of support for him, while Mike Pompeo claimed that Mossad was helping the protesters alongside them on the ground. These claims prevented the movement from taking root and opened the way for the security forces’ brutal crackdown on protests while the regime blocked all internet communications starting from 8^th January.

There are no definitive figures about the number of those killed, injured or detained. The regime itself has put the figure at around 3,000. The human rights group HRNA has put it at 6,800. So far, the death of 160 children has been confirmed. As the regime securitised the hospitals, many of those who were injured were unable to receive medical treatment. Thousands of people are grieving the death of their loved ones or are searching everywhere for their disappeared relatives.

The regime uses executions to intimidate. In the past year the number of executions in Iran, per capita, exceeded any other country in the world. The lives of those in detention is in constant danger.  The ultimate responsibility for the massacre of our people lies with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and his regime.

We call for the formation of an independent fact-finding committee to investigate:

1. The killing of thousands of demonstrators, establish the exact numbers and the conditions in which they were killed
2. The reports of rape and atrocities against women protesters and detainees.
3. The treatment of the injured, including those who were taken by security forces from hospitals
4. The condition of the thousands who are in detention, many under torture to extract confessions

The destiny of Iran must be determined by the people of Iran alone. As the US threat of military attack on Iran gets ever closer, the people of Iran reject any form of interference and military attack on our homeland. At the same time, the life of hundreds of detainees is at risk. We call on all progressives to join us in our:

• demand for an end to US threats against Iran
• demand for an end to executions in Iran
• demand the freedom of political prisoners

No to Dictatorship, No to War, No to executions,

Democratic Organisation of Iranian Women

5^th February 2026