Intersecting Narratives of Resistance: A Comparative Study of Solidarity and Resilience among Imprisoned Women

The Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran, ignited by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, has catalyzed a significant transformation in the collective activism of Iranian women. Building on earlier waves of protest, the movement has fostered new forms of solidarity among women from diverse ethnic, religious, regional, and social backgrounds, both within Iran and across the diaspora. These emerging solidarities provide an important framework for understanding how women construct collective identities, sustain resilience, and resist systemic oppression under authoritarian rule. This chapter examines these dynamics through a comparative analysis of the experiences of imprisoned Muslim and Bahá'í women activists.
This study explores the intersection of oppression and resilience among Iranian women activists through a qualitative, descriptive, and autobiographical methodological lens. By integrating feminist theory, intersectionality, and the concept of resilience within authoritarian regimes, it offers a nuanced analysis of women’s agency amidst systemic repression. Building on Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s (2003) emphasis on solidarity across differences as central to dismantling the global patriarchy, this study situates Iranian women’s activism in transnational feminist thought. It also draws on Alberto Melucci’s (1996) argument that shared experiences of oppression and resilience among marginalized groups and activists shape collective identities and enable the negotiation of meanings, emotions, interactions, and shared goals that foster solidarity and agency. In dialogue with Judith Butler’s (2016) work on vulnerability and resistance as key dynamics of collective action, the research contributes to decolonizing and diversifying dominant discourses by foregrounding collaborative strategies of resistance and agency in Iranian women’s activism.