Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Women, Life, Freedom): A Transnational Social Movement

The wave of protests triggered by the death of Jîna (Mahsa) Amini was the longest in Iran since the 1979 revolution. The movement is universally identified with the slogan ‘Women, Life, Freedom'. But before its translation into Persian and its widespread adoption in Iran, it was the Kurdish slogan of women's activism –Jin, Jiyan, Azadî– first in Turkey and later in Syria (Rojava). As a symbol of the movement's identity, it has drawn international attention to a progressive and democratic movement in a region largely dominated by political patriarchy, war and religious extremism. Emphasizing the overlooked transnational nature of the WLF movement in existing scholarship, this article demonstrates that its manifestation in a third country, Iran, constitutes a crucial turning point in the history of social movements in the country. Examining the WLF movement's unique characteristics, including its origins, its radical principles and objectives, its intersectional foundations, and its feminist resonance, I argue that it should be considered an exceptional movement. Finally, I show how the proponents of a conservative nationalist counter-movement have sought to de-particularize the movement, tracing it back to previous historical events, fearing the movement’s critical implications for the prevailing centralist, homogenizing conception of Iranian national identity.