The Edwin H. Fedder Annual Lecture in Foreign and International Affairs

Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran

Presented by Roya Izadi, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Rhode Island

Woman, Life, Freedom

The slogan is best known in English-language media for its use within the context of Iran. In September 2022 protesters in Iran and abroad adopted the slogan after Jina Mahsa Amini died while in custody for “improper” attire. The death of Amini, a 22-year-old Sunni woman from Iran’s minority Kurdish community, was a reflection of the escalating and unrelenting authoritarianism of the Iranian regime at a time of deepening economic instability.

Prof. Roya Izadi, University of Rhode Island Department of Political Science, will discuss the significant cultural and political context under which the Woman, Life, Freedom movement began in September, 2022. This includes challenges faced by protestors against the backdrop of severe governmental crackdowns, potential future impacts and changes spurred by the movement, and broader demands for gender equality and democratic freedoms in Iran.

Roya Izadi is an Assistant Professor in the department of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island and research associate at the Gender and Security Sector Lab at Cornell University. Her research interests include political economy of security, civil-military relations, authoritarianism, and political violence. More specifically, she studies conditions under which militaries operate within the civil sphere, the role of security forces in understanding conflict dynamics, and citizens' perceptions of the security forces.