Last year (2022) despite numerous challenges, was a fruitful year in the global fight for gender equality. Women and all individuals whose rights are violated by gender-based inequalities and violence, did not back down in their efforts to combat war crimes, religious dictatorships, and manipulation in democratic elections. Without the persistent efforts of women, 2022 would have undoubtedly faced even more challenges in achieving gender equality and respecting human rights.

The wave of protest that began in Iran with the death of Mahsa Amini quickly spread to all provinces of the country and other parts of the world, making it one of the most prominent women’s struggles on a global level in 2022. These struggles, with the active participation of young women at the forefront, turned into a revolutionary uprising with the widespread slogan of “Women, Life, Freedom” against authoritarianism in both private and public spheres. They sparked hope for a future of gender equality in the hearts of many women and girls in Western and South Asian countries, as well as North African countries.

The active presence of women in Ukraine defending their country alongside the presence of women and girls on the streets of Iran was one of the most newsworthy events on a global level. The faces of young women in the Ukrainian army, alongside the perseverance and sacrifice of Ukrainian female farmers, marked one of the historic struggles of 2022. The courage of these female farmers, by providing and ensuring food security for Ukrainian soldiers, was admirable. These women saw the production of goods as an opportunity for role-playing in defense of their country. Nadia Ivanova, one of the ten thousand female farmers in Ukraine, told Foreign Policy magazine: “Continuing production is a form of struggle and these are our weapons. By feeding the people and soldiers, we equip them for the fight.”

One of the other women activists in Ukraine is Oleksandra Matviichuk, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the “Center for Civil Liberties”. She intends to bring war crimes in Ukraine, Syria, Mali, and Georgia to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and seek justice. When this human rights lawyer was asked what gives her hope, she replied “ordinary people”. Matviichuk stated that although the challenges of this battle seem insurmountable, she sees firsthand how ordinary people have the power to change the dire circumstances and war crimes. Oleksandra Matviichuk said, “The mobilization of ordinary people can change the course of world history faster than the intervention of the United Nations.” The day after the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the organization she leads, she speaks of the sense of solidarity that comes from the shared struggle for human rights: “This is a story of freedom; it knows no boundaries and is a universal value

In addition to the women’s activism in Iran, it was the female voters in Brazil who played a significant role in bringing down Jair Bolsonaro in the elections; the president who, with his right-wing, discriminatory and authoritarian policies, downplayed the severity of the coronavirus as a “simple cold” and shamelessly expressed regret that opponents and those who were tortured were not killed during the military dictatorship in Brazil. Women and political and civil forces, with their votes, chose Lula da Silva, who had previously led Brazil during the years 2003-2011, as the president once again, starting from January 2023, with the campaign “Not Him!”

In Palestine, the face of resistance against military violence in the past year was a feminine face. Following the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist in May 2022, her cousin Lina Abu Akleh launched a campaign to hold accountable those who killed this prominent journalist. As a result of her efforts, Time magazine selected her as one of the young leaders of 2022. Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces (IDF) while reporting in the West Bank region of the Jordan River. After investigations and pressure from the Israeli government, it was finally stated that Shireen Abu Akleh was “most likely” killed “accidentally” by Israeli forces (IDF).

In America, the most newsworthy fight against violations of reproductive rights and abortion was by the Supreme Federal Court on June 24th. America is one of four countries that has taken away these rights from women in the past twenty-five years. Following the criminalization of abortion after nearly half a century, many states have passed laws that violate reproductive rights; meaning that doctors have been attacked and abortion has been banned in thirteen states.

The reality is that criminalizing abortion does not stop this practice. It is estimated that one out of every four pregnancies ends in abortion worldwide. According to research by a British institution that analyzed data from various countries from 1990-2019, the rate of abortion in countries where it is illegal is almost the same as in countries where it is legal. It is estimated that every year, 25 million unsafe and unsanitary abortions are performed in the world, leading to the hospitalization of approximately seven million women, especially in the continents of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Of this number, three to thirteen percent lose their lives, making the criminalization of abortion or imposing forced pregnancy and considering it a crime, unsafe for those seeking abortion. This is why women from El Salvador to Poland took to the streets to protest against strict laws on abortion. In January 2022, after the death of a 37-year-old woman due to doctors’ refusal to perform her abortion in Poland

On the other side of the world, in March 2022, thousands of women marched in the capital of El Salvador against the ban on abortion and the high rate of femicide. These protests have been ongoing since 1988 due to the severe criminalization of abortion in the country. Women in El Salvador can face imprisonment for having an abortion, and the ban on abortion remains in place even in cases where a woman’s life is in danger or she has been a victim of rape.

In 2022, abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy became legal in Colombia – which has one of the most progressive abortion laws in Latin America – and Ecuador also legalized abortion in cases of rape. It should be noted that the women’s rights movement in Latin America, known as the “Green Wave of Latin America,” has been fighting for their right to choose.

In India, recognizing the concept of marital rape and the right to abortion for unmarried women was one of the achievements of women’s struggles in this country in 2022. On September 29th of last year, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favor of the legal and safe right to abortion for unmarried women up to the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy.

In Spain, a bill was also passed in December that is considered a positive achievement for women and girls in this country. This bill includes paid leave for women who experience painful menstrual cycles and health problems. Spain is the first European country and one of the few countries in the world to introduce this bill. Japan, Indonesia, and Zambia also have similar laws.

The year 2022 was also a year of resistance and struggle for women and girls against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Two decades of achievements in the areas of women’s economic participation and education, which began with negotiations between the US and the Taliban during the presidency of Donald Trump, were traded away and lost. The promises and pledges of the Taliban in these negotiations only gave false hope. Women were banned from most professions and on March 24, 2022, the date set by the Ministry of Education for the start of the school year, thousands of high school students eagerly rushed to their schools, but only a few hours later the Taliban changed their policies and caused a great shock to the female students of Afghanistan by closing down high schools and secondary education for them; even the brave protests of Afghan women and students with the slogan “Open schools, justice, justice” did not lead to any change. The silence of the world in 2022 in the face of the violation of the human rights of

Turkish women, who have organized one of the most powerful women’s movements in the region, continue their struggles and protests against the Turkish government’s response to violence against women and femicide through street protests and other forms of protest. Turkey withdrew from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, in July 2021. Although this convention and the commitment of European countries in Istanbul were crucial, despite the remarkable efforts of Turkish women, this country withdrew from this framework. In 2022, Reem Alsalem, the special rapporteur on violence against women, warned this country that this step backwards in the fight against violence against women, which is one of the serious demands of Turkish women, should be on the agenda. In 2022 (between January and October of this year), two hundred and seventy-five women in Turkey lost their lives just because of being a woman.

The Israel Observatory on Femicide announced that femicide in this country has increased by fifty percent in 2022. Half of the women who have lost their lives were from the Arab region and the other half were from other cities in Israel.

One of the major struggles of women in 2022 was in the field of environmental preservation and protection. The reality is that women bear the greatest burden of environmental changes. The United Nations estimates that eighty percent of refugees forced to leave their homeland due to environmental changes are women and children. Women activists and researchers in the field of environment emphasize that women’s leadership in managing environmental damages and global warming will result in better and more sustainable outcomes, while the presence of women and opportunities for decision-makers are very limited. At the COP 27 conference, out of the 117 country leaders, only seven were women.

We pass through a period in history in Iran and the world where the convergence of crises and challenges has shaped it. 2022 was a year of explosion of anger and convergence of crises, which erupted like a volcano and emerged as a raging fire; a year of convergence of various economic, social, political, environmental, food security and other challenges, not only in Iran but in many countries around the world. A year where women and young people were at the forefront of confronting such conditions on a global level. This immense force, rising from countless challenges, stands against the authoritarianism of religious fundamentalists on one side and on the other, the courageous and fearless forces of the right, reactionary and populist, striving to preserve and reclaim the right to life, freedom and equality. Women and young people and their fearless struggle against warmongers, torturers, dictators and invading soldiers keep the hope for a better life and a more equal future alive and defend it. The slogan “Women, Life

Women in Iran and the world do not want to wait for a 300-year future promise of freedom and gender equality, which, if we continue at the current pace, will only be achieved in that time period. Women and youth are confident that hope for life is stronger than despair, war, violence, and death. “She knows something else, she will do something else.”