The history of post-constitutional Iran is marked by the presence of motivated and active women who have participated and continue to participate in politics and society in modern Iran. They have been pioneers of progress and new movements in this land. From the very beginning of the constitutional era, when women’s organizations were formed in Iran and they participated in the constitutional movement, women have always been involved in social and political struggles. This independent participation on the scene has never been accepted by the ruling despots of Iran and they have always been dealt with in some way. Iranian despots have always tried to remove women from the field of activity or consider them as submissive elements under their influence. If they are present, they must be obedient to political power and be its propagandists and supporters. If not, they will face punishment and imprisonment. This is why the term “political prisoner” has become associated with women. These are the women who have stood firm on the tradition of independence and their struggle for the human rights

If we look at the history, many names have been mentioned as the oldest political prisoners in Iran. But it can be said that the story of one of them, “Jamileh Sadeghi Kasmai”, is the most certain. (1) Jamileh Sadeghi Kasmai was the first woman to join the Tudeh Party of Iran in 1322 and became a member of the party’s Rasht Committee. The Tudeh Party of Iran was formed in 1320, but due to the opposition of Soleyman Mirza Eskandari, the first secretary of the party, to women’s membership, this membership was delayed until 1322 and the death of Soleyman Mirza. However, Jamileh Sadeghi Kasmai had a longer history of membership in the Tudeh Party and her political imprisonment dates back to five years before September 1320 and the abdication of Reza Shah. (2) Sadeghi

This tradition of suppressing politically active women has continued throughout history. From national, leftist, religious, and non-religious women during the second Pahlavi era until the February 1979 revolution, and the suppression of women under various social, cultural, and political pretexts, this historical process of imprisoning women for political reasons continues in Iran. Today, however, there are names with sentences as the oldest political prisoners of women in Iran, and they are treated by the security forces as if they should refer to the same golden sentence of Ayatollah Montazeri addressed to the founder of the Islamic Republic system. That “your information has whitened the face of the Shah’s SAVAK.” Here, instead of information, you can put the names of all security institutions in post-revolutionary Iran that suppress politically active women.

If we want to name the oldest active female politician who is currently imprisoned, that name is none other than Zeynab Jalalian. An Iranian Kurdish political prisoner who was arrested in 2007, seventeen years before the writing of this text, and was sentenced to one year of disciplinary imprisonment on charges of “illegal exit from the country” and to execution on charges of “waging war against the system (Pejak) as a member of opposition groups.” Her death sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, but was later reduced to life imprisonment. A political prisoner who, during her detention, was subjected to torture and harassment, such as whipping the soles of her feet, punching her stomach, hitting her head against the wall, and threatening to rape her. She has been in prison for 17 years without furlough and is still imprisoned. She, who is imprisoned alongside ordinary prisoners without regard for the principle of separating crimes, has also been diagnosed with

After Zainab Jalalian, the second oldest female political prisoner, Maryam Akbari Manfard is unique. She was arrested in December 2009 after the events of Ashura 88 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the following June. She was accused of waging war through membership in the People’s Mujahedin of Iran organization, but she denied these charges. Maryam Akbari Manfard is a mother of three daughters who, at the time of writing this text, has been separated from them for over fourteen years. She has not had a single moment of furlough during all these years. In December 2020, she was exiled from Evin Prison to Semnan Prison. This prisoner is held in the public ward of this prison without observing the principle of separating crimes and without proper sanitary facilities. It should be noted that two of Maryam Akbari Manfard’s brothers were executed in 1981 and

At least in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, dozens of political prisoners are being held, some of whom are elderly, including figures like Nasrin Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. This imprisonment of politically and ideologically active women occurred 118 years after the Constitutional Revolution of the Iranian people, in which Iranians strove to make the government accountable to the law and the sovereignty of the nation, and to establish justice so that the fate of the country would no longer be subject to the will and desires of despotic rulers. Years later, Iranians staged another revolution and tried to eliminate political prisoners and establish freedom, independence, and the sovereignty of the nation over their land. However, during the reigns of the first and second Pahlavi dynasties, and later during the Islamic Republic, thousands of women were sentenced to years in prison or were subjected to beatings and lashings due to their political beliefs and differing ideologies. It seems that even now, the oppressors

Notes:

1- Who was the first female political prisoner in Iran? Ebrahim Marouji, the New Era, 6 Farvardin 1393.

2- Examining the performance of women’s organizations in the Tudeh Party; between the years 1322 to 1361, Samaneh Bayrami, Journal of Historical Studies, nineteenth year, issue 73, summer 1400.

3- Neglect of medical care for Zainab Jalalian’s condition in Yazd prison, HRANA News Agency, 19 Bahman 1402.

4- Zeinab Jalalian, political prisoner: Stay at home for one day and do not participate in the sham elections, Voice of America, 10 Esfand 1402 (March 1, 2024).

5- Report on the latest situation of Maryam Akbari Monfared in Semnan prison, Hrana News Agency, July 14, 2021.

6- Petition from Prison: Open letter and complaint of Maryam Akbari Monfared, Zamaneh Radio, 27 Mehr month 1395.