Proclamation: March 23 is "Iranian Women’s History Month"

The Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies was pleased to be able to read aloud the proclamation issued by the City and County of San Francisco authored and approved by Supervisor Ahsha Safai (District) declaring the month of March as “Iranian Women’s History Month” at the March 8^th music and poetry event held on campus in Knuth Hall. The proclamation, which you can read above, states that “women and girls in Iran are an example to the world, and  to people who face discrimination and marginalization.”  The proclamation identifies the courageous role of Iranian women and girls in the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” struggle that has been ongoing since the death in police custody of Mahsa Jina Amini on September 16, 2022. While we know that the struggle for freedom, for women’s rights, and women’s bodily autonomy is only one aspect of this movement, we want to draw attention to the particularly courageous role of women and girls who are playing a central role in daily protests across cities and regions of Iran. We also want to draw attention to the global reach of this movement and its support in cities, counties, municipal and parliamentary bodies around the globe. In addition, we want to connect the struggle for women’s rights in Iran with the ongoing attacks on women’s rights much closer to home right here in the US, first with the end to federally supported abortion rights, and now, more recently, with the restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care in many states. We thank Supervisor Safai for his support in issuing this proclamation and we as a center and part of the SF State community will continue to find ways to draw attention to women’s rights both in Iran and at home.