Organisation for Women’s Liberation (OWL) was built on 14th December 2002 in direct response to the growing women’s movement in Iran for equality and liberation The contemporary history of women’s movement in Iran dates back to the 1979 uprising, when their struggle and aspirations for an equal and just society for all was crushed by the newly empowered Islamic Republic of Iran.

Women were the first social strata of the society to be suppressed by the Islamic regime. The imposition of Islamic laws, such as the compulsory veil, gender segregation in public places, negation of the right to divorce or custody of children for women, and the subsequent punishments for defying these laws, such as arrests, imprisonment, stoning and execution have all made life a hell for millions of women in Iran.

However, what we are witnessing in Iran is the growing women’s movement to combat women’s suppression and humiliation. Women in Iran demand freedom, equality, separation of religion from state, and an end to sexual apartheid. OWL belongs to this movement. We regard political Islam as one of the main obstacles in the path of women’s movement for change, especially in the Middle Eastern countries.

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