In response to the death sentences of Kurdish and Iranian women activists Pakhshan Azizi and Sharifah Mohammadi, amid ongoing repression in Iran, eight women’s collectives and organisations in the Basque Country have adopted the slogan, “No to executions! Yes to free life!”
Following acts of solidarity with imprisoned women activists in Kurdistan and Iran, and a protest in Pretoria, South Africa, organised by the Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR), these Basque women’s collectives issued a statement expressing their support for women activists in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat).
The statement condemns the death sentences of Azizi and Mohammadi and highlights the wider context of repression in Iran. It describes the Islamic Republic as a regime controlled by a misogynistic political-clerical oligarchy, which only recognises the rights of those who conform to a narrow lifestyle, language, and religious interpretation. The statement criticises the regime’s practices, including arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, restricted defence rights, torture, and executions, urging the international community to speak out against these injustices.
The statement also draws attention to the rise in arbitrary arrests and death sentences in Iran, which it views as a response to the ‘Jin Jiyan Azadi’ (‘Women, Life, Freedom’) uprising that began after the killing of Jina Amini in 2022. The crackdown has disproportionately targeted women activists and journalists.
Describing the current political situation in Iran as one driven by policies of genocide and femicide, the statement stresses the need to oppose efforts to silence women through terror and executions. It calls for global solidarity with imprisoned women and insists that womens’ organisations must not be silenced by dominant narratives that suppress dissent and critical voices.
Referencing Pakhshan Azizi’s altered letter from prison and state-controlled media, the statement highlights the importance of being vigilant and responding proactively to media manipulation.
The statement concludes by noting that regions such as the Middle East, Kurdistan, Ukraine, and Palestine reflect the ongoing power struggles of hegemonic forces, while the liberal capitalist world system faces significant instability.
