Reflections on the Plight of Women’s Rights in China through the Lens of the Iranian Feminist Movement

By WRIC Jing Zhang                               12-04-2025

 

 

Note: This article is based on a speech delivered by Jing Zhang at the China Action X-Space discussion regarding the Iranian opposition movement.

 

Summary Abstract: Human rights activist Zhang Jing offers a thought-provoking comparison of the women’s rights movements in Iran and China. By analyzing the “Women, Life, Freedom” movements in both countries and the systemic oppression under their respective regimes, Zhang Jing points out that despite the different forms of resistance, the struggle for women’s liberation is inextricably linked to the overthrow of bullying in a patriarchal society and dictatorial rule.

 

 

1, The Rise and Fall of Women’s Rights in Iran

 

Before 1979, particularly during the Pahlavi dynasty, Iran’s women’s rights movement secured significant progress. Women gained the right to education, the right to vote, and legal protections within the family, including fairer laws regarding divorce and child custody.

 

However, the landscape shifted dramatically with the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. The 1967 Family Protection Law was abolished, and new mandates—such as the compulsory hijab and strict public dress codes—were introduced. Consequently, women’s rights were curtailed, and their social status plummeted.

 

Women protestors, surrounded by men as a form of protection, march against the veil in Tehran, on March 10, 1979. Bettmann Archive Getty Images.

 

 

In 2006, various Iranian women’s groups across the political spectrum launched the “One Million Signatures” campaign, demanding an end to discriminatory laws. Under Iranian penal law, appearing in public without an “Islamic headscarf” is a criminal offense, punishable by fines or imprisonment.

 

2, From Silence to Resistance: “Woman, Life, Freedom”

 

Despite decades of activism, it wasn’t until around 2014 that feminists found a unifying focal point: the movement against the mandatory hijab. In December 2017, the issue exploded into a political firestorm when Vida Movahed stood atop a utility box on Revolution Street, silently waving a white scarf. This bold act inspired the “Girls of Enghelab Street.”

 

The movement culminated in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the “morality police.” The powerful images of women and girls taking to the streets chanting “Woman, Life, Freedom” garnered global solidarity. The Iranian authorities responded with brutal repression, resulting in the unlawful killing of over 500 protesters and the weaponization of sexual violence to silence dissent.

 

Amidst heightened international tensions and frequent exchanges of barbs between the US and Iran, the Iranian regime has found a “legitimate” pretext for even harsher repression of the women’s liberation movement. As 2025 draws to a close, the Iranian women’s rights movement shows no signs of significant progress.

 

Photo by Iran Human Rights Monitor.

 

 

3，Comparing the Struggles: Iran vs. China

 

While women in both nations face some of the world’s most repressive autocratic regimes, the Chinese context presents unique challenges in terms of international representation and grassroots survival.

 

a. The Monopoly of International Discourse

 

In the international arena, such as the United Nations, the discourse on Chinese women’s rights is strictly monopolized by the government and state-sanctioned organizations, most notably the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF).

 

A prominent example is China’s First Lady, Peng Liyuan, who serves as the UNESCO Special Envoy for the Advancement of Girls’ and Women’s Education. Despite her high profile, she remains conspicuously silent regarding the representative figures and core demands of China’s grassroots women’s rights movement. In her public appearances, there is never a mention of the most systemic cases defining the struggle today—such as the “Chained Woman” of Xuzhou, the Tangshan restaurant assault, or the alarming suicide rates among rural Chinese women, who represent one of the world’s largest groups in this category.

 

Peng Liyuan and the state-led organizations have effectively hijacked the female voice. They curate a “glamorous” facade to the world, masking the severe deprivation of rights and the genuine perils faced by those advocating for feminism within China.

 

Women’s Rights in China (WRIC) designed the poster.

 

WRIC designed the poster.

 

WRIC designed the poster.

 

WRIC designed the poster.

 

 

b. The Systematic Erasure of Grassroots Issues 

 

Iconic cases like the Xuzhou “Chained Woman” are not only erased by the Great Firewall, but are also met with collective silence and suppression by the more than 200,000 state-supported women’s organizations spanning from central to local levels.

 

Beyond institutional silence, the state employs a massive, systematic apparatus of state-funded internet trolls to distort and ridicule feminism. These actors launch comprehensive attacks and threats against activists. Coupled with a total lack of independent media and a void of social support, feminists are forced into “huddling for warmth” within small, isolated online circles.

 

Due to stringent control over vocabulary and foreign news, even discussing international movements like #MeToo is restricted. Furthermore, obtaining financial support from overseas feminist groups has become impossible, as NGOs receiving foreign funding were forced to disband years ago. Without the leadership of large-scale grassroots organizations to organize protests, women’s issues are quietly excluded from the public sphere. Even a symbolic act of performance art can lead to police harassment or arrest.

 

c. Differences in Direct Confrontation

 

Chinese activism remains relatively moderate compared to the sustained street movements in Iran. In a Chinese prison, the consequences of defiance are devastating; while Narges Mohammadi and her fellow inmates in Iran could burn their headscarves in a symbolic protest, any such act in a Chinese prison would result in life-threatening punishment. Furthermore, the lack of an organized grassroots base means that isolated activities often fail to spark broader social resonance.

 

Conclusion:

In Iran, the struggle is centered on visible symbols of oppression like the hijab. In China, the oppression is more systemic, rooted in the state’s total control over the narrative and the intentional atomization of activists. However, the fundamental truth remains: whether in Iran or China, as long as the current ruling regimes remain in power and until there is fundamental social change, true women’s rights will remain an impossibility.