Story of Anthem Sung by Women at Iran Subway

Click to read the article in Turkish

A video where a group of women in Iran are singing a song on March 8, 2018 has recently been circulating on the Internet. Women who have taken off their headscarves are singing an anthem together. On their social media posts, people refer to this anthem as the "Song of Equality.

The anthem was written by women activists who were subjected to the oppression of Islamic Republic of Iran. It is called “Women Anthem for Equality.” (You can find the old version of the song below.)

The anthem calls women to fight against injustice and to create a world where "equality" exists.

Our translator Behnaz Pouri has translated the anthem from Persian into Turkish for bianet, which we have translated into English for you:

I will come into leaf from the scar on my skin;
For my being, I am a woman, a woman, a woman
If we join hands, join voices, if we take a step together, we will survive
We will create a new world, an equal world, in solidarity and sisterhood
A better and happier world
Neither stone to death or hanging trees, nor tears again or shame
We will create a different world, an equal world, in solidarity and sisterhood
A better and happier world

In the posts shared in Persian, it is stated that the women sang the anthem on a metro wagon on Haqqani line. On that day, a group of 50 people comprising women and men rallying for March 8 in front of the Ministry of Labor were detained in Tehran. This video is a follow-up of women’s demonstrations held in protest of Iranian government by taking off their scarves in public places despite all pressures. They spread this video all over the world via Telegram. Even though women’s struggle in Iran has been covered in the world media in last few months, this struggle goes back in history, and “Women’s Anthem for Equality” demonstrates this.

There is a detail in the footage: The photos behind the papers reading lyrics in the Iranian women’s hands.

These photos were taken by Iranian photographer Hengameh Golestan.

Between the years of 1974-1984, Golestan photographed lives and struggle of women in Iran.

Photos in the hands of the women on metro are from the March 8 march.

The photo seen in close shot in the video is above.

There are other photos as well from the same march. You will notice when you look the photos below that hundreds of thousands of women were at that square on that day. This is an important day for women in Iran because Iran was converting into the Islamic Republic by the laws enacted successively in the wake of return of Ruhollah Khomeini from exile on February 1, 1979 and him coming to power. On March 7, Khomeini passed the Hijab Law, the day before March 8 International Women’s Day.

You may see Iranian women’s reactions from Golestan’s photos.

(HK/TK/SD)